Zootopia: Lone Digger
by ChromiumIIAcetate
Summary: After a tragedy at the up and coming Lone Digger club, Officer Judy Hopps and her partner Nick Wilde are put on the case, but can they find the motives behind such a terrible crime?
1. Prologue

He didn't like this club

It was too dark, with the only light being neon harsh enough to give him a migraine. The dancer was fine, but there were barely any good places to get an eyeful of her from where he and his mates had to sit. This music would have been great, if it wasn't for that terrible sound system, with the high pitched whine under the thumping beat. Clientele in here wasn't any better, either drunk, or even reaching up to almost paw at the help. This was hardly the place his friends had advertised; his hackles were up the moment he'd stepped into this place.

And then there were these assholes. Three wolves, dressed to the nines in tailored suits, lounging in their booth with whiskey and cigars right across from him. He could feel them staring him down with their smug little grins, eyes boring into head, vying with the pounding beat and the drink. On either side of him, his mate's didn't seem to mind, but then again they were on their fifth shot. No one notices too much after that. Except for him apparently.

He took another shot, the liquor burning his throat as it slid down.

And like that, they were out. On his right, his friend swore, holding the bottle upside down, trying to coax something from nothing. On his left, the other tried to stack the shot glasses into a little pyramid, a feat of dexterity terribly impaired by the drinking.

A dull mote of anger grew, throbbing in the back of his skull. He pushed it down, smothered it, forced it to a simmer. This club was getting to him. There was something in the air that just spoke to the part of his soul that was just mindlessly angry. In here, every little thing threatened to set him off. But he focused, a deep breath, trying to get himself back. One of the wolves waved over the zebra hostess, her hips swaying as the clack of her hooves against hard flooring came closer.

He caught a glint, a glimmer in one of the wolves' eyes, mischief mixed with malice, those eyes still on him. A foot extended, catching the waitress at the ankle, sending her tumbling, drinks flying in a slow and glittering arc, splashing over him and his friends. The wolves howled in mirth, slapping the table and knees.

He snarled, feeling that anger flare backs up in him, working to the beat of the club, the sound overpowering him as he flipped the table, sending glass flying. All eyes on the club turned to him. Dimly, he was aware of the bouncer at the door stomping towards him, but all he could focus on was the wolves, standing up, moving to face him. His friends were on either side as they faced off, eye to eye.

The lead wolf looked over him, eyes glinting, grinning with immaculate teeth. Muscles flexed under suits, ears flattened back. The wolf in front of him huffed, chewing a cigar for moment, and blowing a thick cloud of acrid smoke out over his face. He hissed, ears flattening, feeling his friend's hackles rise along with him. The club overpowered him, the beat of the club matching the beat of his heart.

His claws came out.

The world went red.


	2. Chapter 1

The squadcar rolled down the nighttime streets of Savanah Central with the slow stalking pace so common among cops looking for trouble. Inside, famous (to some extent at least) rabbit officer Judy Hopps sat behind the wheel. Her partner, the famous (To a much lesser extent) Nick Wilde, a fox of many talents. It was just one of those late nights on the force, patrolling the town and keeping the peace. Well, that was the intent anyway.

Nick yawned, vulpine muzzle stretching to an almost impossible width. His shoulders rolled, squirming a bit in his seat. Fingers drummed on the armrest, and he sighed "Carrots, when I said I had an idea who had tagged that sign back there, it was with the unspoken intention that we would check it out tomorrow"

Judy, quirked a brow "Hey, we've still got, what, an hour on patrol?" she grinned, a bright little smile, long bunny ears upright as she gave a sly smile "I mean, what else were we going to do?"

The fox yawned again "Mmmm, nap? I've been told foxes are supposed to be nocturnal, but honestly I think the jury out is on that one" He stretched, eyes squeezed shut as he gave out another long, and exaggerated yawn "Don't you turn off for a moment Carrots? Or are you one of those battery powered bunnies I've heard about?"

Judy laughed, reaching over and giving Nick a little punch on the arm "Don't sleep on the job, you dumb fox. I thought they weeded out all that lazy back at the academy"

Nick grinned back, rubbing his arm just a bit "What can I say? I'd hardly be a fox if I didn't look for the easy way out now, would I?"

The rabbit gave him a look, then rolled her eyes "All right, all right, be like that" She chuckled, little lavender eyes peering out into the dark "So, how do you know this guy anyway?"

He shrugged "Well, it's just a hunch. I've run with a few guys, and it looked like his work. Young guy, met him when Finnick was getting his van decaled. I think Flash knows him. Oh, hey, speak of the devil" He trailed off, pointing to a dark alleyway as they prowled closer.

Hopps frowned "Wait, Flash? Flash knows him? No. No no no don't tell me" she groaned as she pulled the squad car into park, opening the door with a shove. The darkened shape shifted, and Judy groaned again.

"Well, now isn't that lucky. I told you, Carrots" Nick Wilde said, laid back and casual, lips in a grin that spoke volumes about the smugness of foxes "I know everybody"

Judy Hopps groaned, lavender eyes rolling and lips pursing for a moment "Yeah, I got that" the diminutive rabbit officer huffed out "But why do they always end up being sloths? Is this just a thing of yours?"

Nick gasped, one hand over his heart "Why, Carrots, you aren't implying that I like wasting your time, are you?" she grinned, all teeth and smug satisfaction "I mean, really, you know I'm past that. I'm a changed fox now, look, I even have a badge" He offered it

Judy smirked, a little laugh on her lips "Hah, well, I think I've seen it before" she chuckled, before gathering herself "But come on, this is taking out all the excitement of a foot chase, you know?"

Nick had to admit, she might have a point. They'd been having this conversation ever since their perp had made a break for it. A very, very slow break for it. To his credit, the teenaged vandal was really giving it his all. He might even be making it past, what, four feet per minute at this rate?

The fox shrugged "Ok, well, I said I know everyone, not really what they are. I thought Tim here had cleaned up. He always seemed like such a go getter"

Judy groaned again, walking after the sloth. It was really quite the sight. He was panting for breath, albeit rather slowly. He might not have even noticed that they were talking about him. Little bunny fingers snapped in front of that fleeing vandal "Officer Hopps here, you're under arrest for vandalism, did you get all that? You have the right to remain silent, anything- "

"You'll…Have…To…Catch…" the sloth droned a defiant expression dawning on his face like a glaciers majestic path over a prehistoric valley

"Yeah, catch your first. I know. You have been caught. I am right here. You see these handcuffs?" The rabbit continued

Tim seemed undeterred "…Me…First…You…"

"Copper, yes, I know. You know what?' Judy huffed, little paws bending the sloths' arms behind him and snapping them into cuffs

Tim continued "…Pigs" seemingly unaware of his new cuffed state, nor the gentle redirection by Judy towards a nearby wall. In agonizing slow motion, the vandal collided with the alley wall. It was really unfair that the policed moved at such an unnatural speed.

Nick, meanwhile, peered up at Tim's handiwork in the pale light of the moon. He nodded, barely paying attention to Judy's daring chase "You know, it's a real shame we caught him like this. He does good work; don't you think? Really catches the spirit of the piece" the fox flashed a grin "I mean, maybe we can let him go and let him finish? I'm a bit curious how he was going to spray the mayor"

"What…The…?" Tim intoned, somewhat confused at the speed the fuzz had caught up with him.

Judy laughed, gently steering their perpetrator to their squadcar. It was a bit of an arduous process; a struggling sloth is even slower than a cooperating one. She shrugged "If you wanted to see it finished, you should have waited, you dumb fox" She spared a wink "Tell you what, next time you take me to see a sloth, I'll let him finish whatever he's doing without interrupting."

The fox spared a grin, eyes twinkling "Oh, speaking of, we should pay Flash another visit"

Judy groaned. Tim struggled like molasses in winter.

And then, a crackle of static, Clawhauser on dispatch from the squadcar "Officer Hopps, we have a, oh dear, we have a real bad situation at the corner of Rhinosdale and 5th, and they are requesting backup. Are you two nearby?"

Nick Started, eyebrows rising as he moved to answer. Judy beat him too it, hopping up onto the seat and responding "Hopps here Clawhauser, we're… uh, about five minutes away. Faster if we need to. What's the situation?"

The fox sighed, shoving his hands in his pockets as Carrots worked furiously. He managed a glance back at Tim, who only just now seemed to notice he wasn't being actively restrained. Nick rolled his eyes, walking over "Ok, Tim?" he started, one arm draped over the little punk "You got real lucky this time, cause I'm going to let you go with a warning. Got it? No don't talk, this one's on the house, and don't let me catch you tagging buildings again, alright? Next time we won't be getting called away. Ok? Good. I'm going to assume you were going to say yes there champ" Dark paws worked as he talked, uncuffing Tim and giving him a pat on the shoulder.

Tim seemed a bit quicker on the uptake this time "You… Have… Changed… Man…" He droned

Nick grinned, smug as ever "I have, and it's for the better." The fox turned, jogging towards the squad car as Judy revered the engine, waving him over with nervous urgency. Nick swung himself in the front seat, calling one last bit of advice at his acquaintance "Remember! Don't let me catch you doing this again buddy, or you'll see how much I really have changed!"

And with that, siren blaring, the two partners tore off into the Zootopia night.

* * *

Nick bent double and vomited, retching pathetically as a hot stream of sick splashed against asphalt.

The ZPD had been right to send them as backup. It would take more than McHorn and Francine to keep the crowd out of here, to take statements, to get all the bodies out. The lights of ambulances fought with the neon sign of the club, the Lone Digger. The clash of light and yellow police tape, the murmuring crowd of passerby's peeping out through windows and from the street, it was better than what he had seen inside. He spared a glance at Judy, who sat on the hood of their squadcar, staring into nothing.

Inside the club had been an abattoir, blood spilled and seeping into everything and gleaming in the harsh neon light. Something wrong had gone on in there, something that turned the sleazy strip-club into a tomb with unusually good music. It had been some sort of fight, some sort of animal brawl beyond all rational thought. The smell, oh god the smell! He could feel his stomach lurch again at the thought of it.

Nick gathered himself, the taste of him still clinging to his lips, and pushed himself towards Judy. He swerved past the paramedics, wheeling out more body bags while others tried to keep the maimed still alive. It was a nightmare.

And he pushed himself up, sitting next to Judy. She didn't respond, staring out into the dark, a hundred-yard stare on her. Nick didn't press the issue, and just sat alongside her. The situation was contained, there wasn't anything else they could do. They could take a moment.

"This is wrong" She finally managed, her voice small and subdued.

Nick sighed, long and suffering, one paw landing on her shoulder, holding her softly "I… That's just how it is sometimes Carrots. They told me it was going to be rough in the academy, but-"

"No, no I mean, this isn't right, people just… People just don't fight like savages, like, like that. There has to be a reason. This can't…" She trailed off a moment, eyes squeezing shut "Something happened here Nick, this wasn't an accident."

The fox looked down at his partner, lips curling into a frown "Carrots…" he started, and then let out a hiss of breath "You know, you're right. Bogo will put his best officers on the case. It will get solved"

Judy's little bunny paws balled into fists "No, Nick, we're going to find out. We're going to take the case. I mean, I'll take it"

"Carrots, we're not homicide. I've only been on the force for two months"

"And I wasn't missing persons when we found Otterton. I can make Bogo listen to me, he has to give me this. What, don't you think I can do it?"

Nick sighed, and then smiled softly "I think a dumb bunny like you can do anything she puts her mind to. I'll back you up on this Carrots"

Judy smiled. It was a soft, weary smile, the sort of smile made when there wasn't anything left to smile about "Thanks Nick… It means a lot"

The fox chuckled, his back to that tomb of a club "You bunnies, so emotional"

* * *

"The case isn't yours, Hopps" Chief Bogo groaned out, terse and more than a little annoyed.

But considering that terse and more than a little annoyed was the chiefs ground state, she decided to press the issue "Chief, we were on the scene, I know something is wrong. You can't just dismiss this without any-"

Bogo snorted, a sharp exhale that spoke volumes "Officer Hopps, I am dismissing nothing. I am not assigning the case to you, bunny, because there is no case. An open and shut brawl, and I do not need to argue with you on this Hopps." The buffalo ground his teeth, jaw jutted out as he stared down at the diminutive rabbit

She couldn't let it go "But-"

Bogo slammed his fist down on his desk "Where do you get off, anyway? Barging into my office at midnight, demanding to be put on a case? For God's sake, bunny, you've only been here for seven months!" his shoulders hunched, muscles tense "This was a brawl that went south fast, and I do not need to assign promising officers outside of their god damn jobs! Do I make myself clear Hopps?"

Promising? Oh, that was nice, he said a good thing about her. He might have only been angry, rather than furious. A bit of an academic distinction, but every little bit counted.

Judy's ears drooped, and she glanced at the floor, little furry fists balled at her sides. A sigh, shoulders slumping as she tapped her foot once "Yes Sir" she said, a bit downtrodden. This was fine. She'd find another way to get in on it. There had to be a way to change his mind.

And then Bogo smiled "Good, good." He rumbled, and then chuckled "But since you did admitt that I don't _have_ " he stressed that last word "-to give you this case, congratulations"

Judy's ears perked, eyes opening in a mix of quizzical incomprehension, which was melting quickly into an annoyed understanding.

Bogo spread his arms wide "You and your partner will be assigned to the…" he glanced at the folder on his desk "The Lone Digger case. Consider it on the job training for homicide, since you seem to be so very interested in getting involved" The buffalo's expression hardened again "With the understanding that I can take you off it if I feel you are making a mess of it, Hopps."

Judy felt torn. On the one hand, well, she did get what she wanted. On the other though, well, she was pretty sure Bogo was having a bit too much fun jerking her around like this. Still, she threw a salute, optimism forcing its way to the fore "Yes sir! Don't worry, me and Nick will make this our top priority"

Bogo snorted "See that you do, Officer. Now, get out of my office, and get some sleep. I want you two on this first thing in the morning. Oh, and Hopps?" He looked down his glasses at her "Remember, it might have just been a brawl. Not everything is like the Nighthowlers"

Judy nodded, maybe a bit too vigorously, her ears nearly flopping over her little face "Of course, sir, thank you sir, I won't let you down"

"Out, Hopps"

"Sir, yes, sir!" Hopps said again, dashing out of the office.

And Bogo sat in his chair, a long suffering sigh escaping him. His life seemed to much more interesting since he had taken that little rabbit on the force. And what a shame that was, he liked things boring. But, he had to admit, she did have a point.

Something felt very, very wrong about this case


	3. Chapter 2

Routine is important.

There was a time where Nicks routine would have been a lot more sedate; wake up around nine, spend some time making breakfast, maybe listen to the radio, and just wait for Finnick. It was comfortable, and put him in the right mood for grifting. Sometimes the little fox wouldn't even show up till around noon. That was enough time to even have a nap. He missed that.

Things were worse now. These days it was wake up to a shrill alarm before seven, and shamble into the shower like the living dead, neither awake of sleeping, a horrible limbo state. Warm water helped the waking process, and cold water _really_ helped the waking process when the water heater broke. Which it did, constantly. And after that, there was only time to get dressed, have breakfast, and then meet Judy on the bus to work. He didn't enjoy his new routine much, but he did like seeing Judy every morning. Of course, he would have preferred it if she wasn't so bright and chipper, but you can't have everything.

She was a fair bit more pleasant to start the day with than Finnick. Less threats for one thing, and cuter for another. Well, no, that last one was a lie, but they came close. Of course, if he counted that one time Finnick had smashed O'Ferretigans ankle with his bat…

Judy was probably cuter.

Nick made a mental note to not mention that to her in the future. Finnick had enough trouble with the law on his plate without him adding Hopps to it.

But today was a major disruption of his routine, and right when it was getting good, too. The water had been warm for once, and it was only in that slow dawning of true consciousness that he heard a sharp staccato of knocks. Nick didn't really believe in the divine, but the arrival of a visitor right in the middle of his shower felt like a strong argument for an active and vengeful god. He attempted to ignore the knock. Maybe they didn't hear the shower, maybe they would leave. Maybe they would die. That would have been nice.

But there was no reprieve, and the knocking started up again, more insistent and angry. There wasn't really any way out of this, and with a grumbling swear Nick staggered out of the shower, towel around his waist and sopping wet. He had a few long seconds to drip dry as he tracked water through his dingy little apartment before unbolting his door and throwing it open. Once they saw him in his state of undress, truly they would understand the folly of knocking on a door at seven am. " _What?_ " he snarled, and then paused.

Of course, Of course it was Judy.

There she was, bright eyes and bushy tailed, lavender eyes gleaming up at Nick, all dressed and ready for work. She didn't look like she had slept too well, her fur a little ruffled with soft dark bags under her eyes. That didn't seem to stop her much though, and she beamed "Nick! Hey! I thought we'd start early today, cause, um, you… I… You see…" The little rabbit trailed off, gleaming rabbit eyes taking in the fox, moving lower, only to look away with sudden awkwardness "UH, um, hey, so, is this a bad time?"

Nick tugged the door closed, hiding behind the frame, and frowned "Carrots, it's 6:30, and our shift doesn't start for another, what, an hour or so? I'd say it's a bad time" he felt a lot more naked than he should right now, and he was already pretty naked. The fox tugged the door a little more closed, only his head sticking out. Of course, there was no awkwardness that a little wit couldn't defuse

"Carrots, if you wanted to try and catch an eyeful, you could have always just found an excuse to walk into the police showers" He grinned, a smug and knowing little expression settling on his face as the machinery in his head spun up to his normal level of banter.

"What? No, I was, you were, this is, when I-" Judy huffed, frowning as she looked up at his face, and then snorted out a little laugh "Shut up, you dumb fox. I just, uh, couldn't sleep, so I thought I would get an early start. Should I have, um, called?"

Behind his shield of a door, Nick shrugged "Probably. I wouldn't have answered, but it's the thought that counts." Another smug little smile, all teeth and teasing mirth "But whatever, you're here now, I was just showering. Come in, and try not to stare. That's only for ladies who pay."

"Dumb fox" Judy laughed, the awkwardness in the air evaporating into nothing, her tired lavender eyes bright and relieved. A tightness gripped Nicks heart for a moment, but he let it go, melting away like snow in the sun.

He took some time to finish his shower, just enough get his deodorant on (Musk-Mask!) and dry off, and reapply his deodorant. No one needed to be in a car with a fox going au natural, least of all Judy. But soon enough he was dressed, and stepped out of the bathroom with a confident stride. There was a bit of a stumble when he caught sight of Judy awkwardly standing in the middle of his apartment trying not to touch anything, which was a bit of a feat.

It's not that his place was dirty, no, no, it was just… homey. Cluttered. It was fine. A nice cozy, lived in feel. Nick felt a bit better that Judy hadn't seen his bedroom. It was also homey. A sharp wash of shame burst over him, but he shook it off.

Yawning, the fox flipped his mirror shades on "So, excited for the case huh? We're moving up in the world, and all it took was, what, seven deaths?"

"Nick! Don't joke about that"

The fox frowned "Yeah, maybe I shouldn't" He answered evasively. Another awkward pause developed, and Nick tried to kill it before it grew "But you're obviously more than ready for this. Couldn't sleep?"

Judy sighed, looking at the ceiling for a moment "It was hard to stay asleep. I kept having, dreams" She fidgeted slightly "Didn't you?"

"I'm used to nightmares by this point Carrots, but last night wasn't exactly restful" He said as casually as he could. Judy looked pained, lavender eyes filled with an empathetic curiosity, the next words tumbled out of his mouth in a rush to stifle her questions "Anyway, you got me up this early, so let's at least catch the bus"

"Oh! Oh, no, I went to the station first. I have a squadcar outside. We'll take that" she said, distracted from his earlier slip. Or maybe she just let her drop. It's didn't matter, really.

"How early did you get up? No, wait, I don't want to know." He grinned "Well, let's go then. And we're stopping for breakfast. I have to keep healthy if I want to retain my natural good looks"

Judy laughed "And here I thought you worked for it"

Nick grinned, looking at that little rabbit over his mirror shades "Oh, so you think I'm handsome now huh?"

Judy winked as she opened the door "Hah! I don't have to answer that on the grounds it may incriminate me, Wilde"

Nick felt that same tightness around his heart again as he saw her walk away from him with her happy stride and swaying hips. She had implied that he was handsome.

He held onto the feeling for a bit longer, and then let it melt away.

* * *

The Lone Digger Cleaned up nicely, all things considered.

There wasn't too much of a smell anymore, even if there were quite a few unsettling damp spots still around. One day, the place might even be able to open again. Though, with the specter of murder hanging over it…

Nick had read over the case file when the two had driven over. Eight dead, three in critical condition, four unharmed, not including the manager. Autopsies were still going to be coming in, but the smart guess was on, surprise, exsanguination. There was some film caught on the in-house security camera that they had to go over, and more than a fair amount of photographs of the scene. But even that wasn't enough to get a real handle on the situation.

The most interesting thing was the drugs though. Alcohol, for certain, but among the bodies had been a bit of pot, some catnip, a smidgen of coke, and primal. Primal was the most worrisome, of course. Nighthowler extract diluted down to barely anything, and in a lovely little pill. Made you feel invincible, and angry. The ZPD had been coming across problems with inner city prey and it. Pop a primal and you don't have to worry about being scared of those nasty preds.

No wonder Bogo thought this was an open and shut case.

But there wasn't the time to think about the doubts of the chief. Even if it was just a case of drug addled rage, they had a duty to find out where those drugs came from, and why they were here. And there were a few places to start with that line of thought.

Miss. Emmy Callaham was the manager of the strip joint, an unusually sweaty pig with a fat and jolly face, though now streaked with worry and signs of insomnia. She looked terrible.

"Look, that's all I can tell ya's" The porcine businesswoman said, dabbing her forehead with a cloth "This was midnight on a Tuesday. Ain't none of the regulars coming in, just some nobodies and nutjobs. And I wasn't even out on the floor with it all. I was talking with the landlord."

Judy's little bunny fist was a blur, carrot pen taking note after note on her notebook. Nick nodded, hands in his pockets, eyes rolling towards the manager "Yeah, this landlord, why'd he feel the need to come in. Do you get a cheaper rent if you offer lapdances?"

Callaham laughed nervously. Judy elbowed Nick in the side. "Hah, no, just this is when he comes down to talk about rent."

Judy tapped her foot "Has rent been a problem?"

"No. I pay on time. In advance, sometimes. I run a good place"

Nick drummed his fingers on a nearby wall, letting his eyes rove about the establishment "Well, for a good place, there sure were a lot of drugs in here. Are you sure you didn't mean a feel good place?"

Radcliffe bristled like that, aggressively dabbing her sweaty brow again "Hey, I run a clean place, ain't my job to frisk the customers, if they keep it to themselves"

"Well, see, about that flopsweat. The amount of Primal found in there, hard to say that they weren't selling. And since it's your club…"

"Hey, woah, woah, ain't no one selling drugs in this club. Last time that happened I had Jones take them out back and-" Callaham stopped, feeling Judy's stare on her "…And escorted him from the property"

Nick grinned 'Uh huh, well, listen, I. We, we'd like to believe you, isn't that right Carrots? But this doesn't look good for you my friend"

Judy gave Nick a look as Callaham sputtered "What? This is blackmail, you can't do this to me, this is, is the-"

Nick raised his paws "Hey, hey, we're on your side buddy, this is just how it's going to work, alright? So you need to really help us out here. You're saying that you gave your tapes to the police. Are you absolutely sure you got all of them?"

Callaham fidgeted, biting her lower lip for a moment as she looked over her shoulder. Judy prodded Nick in the side "Nick" she hissed "This is really dirty. You can't just-"

She was cut off as the pig turned back "Look, I gave yous guys everything I had, but, if it really helps, uh" he dabbed at his forehead again "I can get you both with, um… Some of the optional cameras"

Nick grinned. Judy frowned

"Looks, It's not illegal, I just had a guy come by a few months back to do some work on the sound. And while he was here I asked him to, uh. Too add a few extra cameras. Discrete like" Callaham sagged "Ok, I knew that someone was trying to cause trouble in here, trying to peddle drugs an shit. I didn't want to call the cops, cause in my job, things can get a bit heated with the police. So I wanted to handle it in house."

Nick looked over his shades at the strip-club owner, and then to Judy, and then back to him "Well, every little bit counts"

Callaham scuttled off, wiping away an ocean of sweat. Judy gave Nick a punch in the arm "You didn't have to do that Nick; she would have given it eventually!"

Nick rubbed his arm "Ah, nah, no she wouldn't Carrots. She was like me a few months back. Not going to give up more than she had to for the cops. Really, I respect her in that way" He grinned at Judy's little scowl "And hey, a little blackmail worked well enough on me, didn't it?"

Judy huffed, a little smirk on her lips "That's different, you actually were guilty"

"And did I ever mention how thankful I am you never followed up on that?"

"Watch it fox, I could at any time"

Nick Laughed "Alright, alright, let's get this film, and then swing back down to the station. We can let Flopsweat there stew a bit, see if she thinks of anything else and maybe see if the lab boys are done with our bodies."

Judy sighed "It's going to be a long day"

Nick chuckled "That's never stopped you before"

* * *

"Well, we've come to conclusion that they all died from a critical misplacement of blood. It was all outside their bodies"

Judy frowned. Nick frowned as well. The Elephant lab tech beamed

"Which I have a feeling that you knew about. But yes, there was a lot of other stuff in all of them"

"Stuff?" Judy said, with a little groan. The counter was a little too high for her here, so he's managed to find a chair to stand on. Life was hard for the three feet tall. But then again, it was better than being on the floor of this morgue, all sterile whites and medical greens, with open bodies hanging on cold trays. Nick had needed to take a moment before they had got to asking questions

The elephant nodded, ears flapping like sails "Oh, of course. We're not done with all the tests. But for what you asked, almost everyone was on some sort of drug. Mostly the booze, f'course"

Nick quirked a brow "And, what, cocaine and weed, right? Oh, and nip. I think we found some nip there"

"Oh, of course, that was all there too. Nothing big though, doesn't look like any hard users"

Judy tapped her foot "What about primal?"

The lab tech shrugged "I can't really tell you about that one hun. We don't really have a good handle on the whole thing yet, and it gets flushed out of the system right quick" Still, he grinned "But I can tell you that Frank found trace doeses on, uh, ok here's his chart, Thomas Howler. Not much. Might have pooped a pill 3 hours before death."

Judy tapped her chin, and then flipped out her notebook "Howler… One of the wolves. Ok… Hmpf"

The tech raised an eyebrow, Nick leaned over her shoulder "Thinking, Carrots? Careful not to strain something"

Judy gave him a look "Of course. Just, I was hoping for something definitive, you know? We found a full bag of primal at the scene, and no one is on it? How long were they there? Did they just not have enough time to sell? Is it something else?"

"Well, only way to find out that is to hit the cameras again fluff."

The elephant in the room coughed "Well, if that is the case, I can't really think of a reason that primal would bring in a boatload of stiffs unless they were all on it."

Judy tapped the counter "And that's the real problem. Can you, um, try and see if anyone else had Primal in them? Just to be sure?"

The tech groaned 'UUuuughhhh that's going to take a long time bunny. But, I think I can squeeze a few more in. No promises though. I still have to do a ton of paperwork with these guys"

"Well, thanks anyway. We owe you"

The Elephant shrugged

Both of the officers left the morgue, wandering upstairs into the ZPD proper. Judy looked pensive, brown knitted together "So, it could be primal"

Nick gave a non-committal little gesture "It could"

"But, it probably isn't. If it was, we'd be seeing it in more people, right? Cause they would have been selling it at the club"

"Seems reasonable"

"But, if it's not primal, what else could it be? What makes people bug out like that?"

Nick chewed on his lower lip for a long moment "Well, there was a bunch of booze. But that isn't right" he yawned a bit, rolling his neck "Tell you what, Carrots. I'm going to take this footage we got from Callaham, and go over it. Shouldn't take me more than four hours"

Judy put her hand on her hips "You? And what exactly am I supposed to be doing then? Take a nap?"

The fox grinned "Couldn't hurt, you know. You could use an early night" He skittered a little bit farther away from Judy as she stuck her tongue out at him "But, really, we don't need two people on this. So, uh… Maybe try and do some interviews? Maybe background?" He shrugged 'It's month two for me Carrots, help me out here"

The little rabbit laughed, chuckling "Ahaha, alright hotshot, I'll leave you alone with the film of a strip club, which is for work, and I'll see if I can dig anything up on all the victims."

"Carrots please, I'm a professional. If I end up noticing anything of interest in the club, it will be of police interest"

"Uh huh, and are dancing ladies of police interest?"

"We are pursuing all avenues of investigation"

Judy smirked "Alright, good luck with that hotshot" she chuckled out, bouncing away from the fox

Nick took a long moment, standing there. His ears burned for some reason. He'd hid it well, but there was something about her teasing that made him feel shame, embarrassment. Which was weird. He didn't care what people think. He'd have twenty years to learn that skill. It shouldn't matter that Judy was teasing him about it. It shouldn't make his heart thrill like this.

He let the feeling melt away.

* * *

Reclining in his seat, the slow crawl of the sun across the sky was unnoticed to Nick. There was just him and these videos. And what was perhaps for the best. They weren't bad quality, but there were three different feeds with some poor focal distance, and he had to go over all of them. Well, he didn't have to, but one needs to be thorough, right? Besides, Carrots would really chew him out if he tried to take the easy way out, and that would be terrible.

So here he was, watching the club scene play over and over. It was probably for the best that there was little focus on the spy cameras. It might have been too much to see that brawl in high def. It was savage, it was monstrous. At one point, the wolves mauled a panther to death with their teeth, and soon after one got a switchblade in the eye for their trouble. Nick was thankful that none of the views let him see that mauling, and regretted his close up of the knifing. The weapons were numerous and improvised, broken bottles, one switchblade, and in a darkly amusing note, a chair. The rest was with naked claws and bared teeth.

But he had a good handle on what had happened now. For the last four hours (Give or take. He had been fast forwarding a lot, and had hardly stopped the film to ogle the strippers at all, honest.) that little pack of wolves had been a constant problem for the club. Obnoxious, rude, and it looked like they were trying to peddle drugs more than a few times. There weren't many takers, but even the attempt was asking for some real trouble. Nick knew more than a few ZPD officers who would have tried to pin any drugs on the management. It was a nice and simple solution.

And it was them who had started the brawl, in their own way, when they started hassling a matched group of panthers who had wandered in. If you were going to try and start a fight, Nick mused, you couldn't get better than with these three panthers. They were young, maybe just old enough to get into the club and drink. They probably had just finished college classes, or graduated. Young, dumb, and full of fire. Ripe to respond to a push. But with such violence… That seemed wrong.

In fact, the whole club had seemed like it was on edge. Little fights had broken out, arguments that had ended only when the huge bull of a bouncer had tossed the patrons out. The only person who didn't look on edge had been the dancer.

And what a beauty she was. Perfect and graceful proportions, gazelle horns rising up and swaying with her hips. Everything about her was just dripping eroticism. She was quite good, and dedicated to her, ah ha, craft. There was a time in his life Nick would have spent some cash to see a performance like that. Not his own cash of course, but he definitely would have hustled his way in there. Less so now, though he would have struggled to articulate why.

But the most interesting thing was how she didn't stop dancing. Even in the violence. That wasn't normal, not by a long shot. She had only started to notice when a spray of arterial blood had covered her back and hips, and even then it took her a moment to snap out of it. By the end of it all, she had been standing there in her little cage, just bathing in blood. That girl was going to need therapy.

Nick chewed his lower lip, focusing his investigation. Something was wrong about this, sure, he just had to connect the dots. But that was really more Carrots skill. So he did what he did best, observed.

Pen at the ready, Nick began to jot down what struck out as pertinent:

1) Wolves causing trouble (Confederates?)

2) Club on edge for at least four hours (Bad service? Bad dancer? The pack?)

3) Dancer is very good

4) Three young panthers throw first swipe at wolves (Wolves not expecting this?)

5) Whole club goes nuts (except dancer. Why?)

6) Dancer Keeps dancing

Wilde chewed his pen, looking down at his little notes, and then back to the screen. He knew the key had to do with this dancer. She was the only person in this affair who didn't seem off her rocker, the only sane thing about this whole scene. The fox leaned back, rewinding, watching, and then rewinding again.

Oh. Oh that was interesting. She was so practiced in her routine; she could do it with her eyes closed. She _was_ doing it with her eyes closed.

She never saw any of it, she could have only heard.

Nick flipped his notebook closed, and shut the computer off. He needed to see if Judy wanted to have a little chat with this woman.


	4. Chapter 3

The ZPD was still a little behind the times when it came to equipment, particularly with computers.

Oh, they were fast and new, but they were just so big! The keyboards were suited for tigers and lions and bears and what have you, but not a tiny little bunny. And here Judy Hopps was on her lonesome, struggling to type in names on a keyboard with keys almost the size of her fist. She was really going to have to bring her own keyboard to work.

The big screen was nice though, they could keep that.

There were a lot of files to go through, which came with the sheer volume of deaths on this case. It was a little heartbreaking to see all of this paperwork so casually and coldly collected on the department computers. Fresh, young, smiling faces peered up at her, eternally frozen behind that screen. Something seemed deeply wrong with that, almost perverse. Her heart ached when she thought about it, and then hardened as she filled with determination.

Maybe Bogo had been right; maybe the world had always been broken. But that was why it needed good cops. That's why it needed her, in this moment.

And so she worked. Thumbing through papers, through files, and making calls. She was tireless. After all, nothing could stop Judy Hopps when she set her mind to it. It was less of a case of her being able to do it, and rather if there was anything to find at all.

Call after call, inquiry after inquiry she came up short. Or rather she came back with reams of useless information. All their friends had known that they would be at the club, or their parents in one case. That, or they just didn't seem to have any friends. None of them were particularly violent, though there was a misdemeanor or two scattered about. That wasn't all that surprising. After all, everyone is guilty of something.

The only outliers were those wolves. They were connected of course, sitting together at a booth and wearing suits? That's a clue if there ever was one. But how? Friends? Co-workers? They weren't related at least. But their families weren't much help. Bachelors or divorcee's, the three seemed almost unmoored from the world. They did all work together though, at some place called Strongpaw. Judy didn't like the sound of that, and she really didn't like how she didn't seem to be able to get ahold of the company, or even really find out what they did. Strongpaw seemed to work through word of mouth, and that didn't sit well with the rabbit.

Judy got up on her feet, leaning forward and standing on her too big chair up at her too big screen. The victims were your garden variety people for the most part. Old perverts (which was a phrase she shouldn't use in her official report, but oh well there it was), some sleazy business folk (Also a no-no word for the report), and young thrill seekers (That one could probably stay). She didn't have too much experience in all of this, but that made sense. Or maybe it didn't? There wasn't much adult entertainment in Bunny Burrows. Though, she never really asked her parents what they did on the weekends…

That was enough quite enough of that sort of thinking.

So perhaps it was for the best when Sergeant Purrphy leaned over Judy's shoulder (And entire body. Predators just had a habit of looming over prey. Some instincts are hard to break) to get a look at that screen. The tigress thrummed a deep, throaty little rumble as she scratched her chin, emerald eyes rolling down to Judy, "What are you looking up Frank for, Hopps?"

Judy blinked, looking over to her screen, and the wolf Franklin Bonaparte stared back at her. Judy's notebook flew open in her paws, "You know this wolf?" she said, up on her feet in a flash, staring up at the larger woman with gleaming eyes.

Purrphy looked a little taken aback, and a little amused. "Mmmm, I would say nearly everyone knew Frank at some time. Real charming fellow. Worked in vice."

"He worked here? How did he leave? Why? Oh-" Judy caught herself, "He's a victim in my murder case. The Lone Digger?" she supplied helpfully. The bunny beamed with the joy that can only come from the unshakably optimistic. See, this is where making friends with her co-workers got her.

Emerald eyes looked over the screen, and the tigress heaved a heavy sigh. "Can't say I was surprised. Frank was born to get into trouble. Hell, can't say I'm too broken up either" She caught Judy's look and knit her brow, "Hey, if you knew him you'd say the same bun. He was dirty. No one ever proved it, but Bogo did suggest-" she gave little air quotes with her ponderous fingers, "-that he resign after something went down in vice. Never found out what. Didn't care much, really"

Judy's carrot pen whirred as she jotted down all of this, biting her lower lip as she tapped her chin in thought, "Ok, Ok, Frank was an ex-cop. And records say he was employed by, hold on, ok here it is, Strongpaw? The rabbit thumped her foot against the chair cushion "You don't happen to know anything about that, now, do you? I gave them a call, but they were not as neighborly as I would have hoped."

Purrphy laughed a throaty laugh. "You know, hope springs eternal…" She purred, "But I actually do know a little. It's a little company for people with muscle and a little discipline. They run security, bodyguards, that sort of thing, but they mostly try and sell to business folk who want a guard who looks good in a suit." The tigress chuckled, "They lurk around the ZPD from time to time, and try and seduce away some of the malcontents. They almost got me one time when Bogo was threatening to bust me down"

Judy beamed, bright and innocent and with such warmth. "Well, lucky they didn't get you! This is so helpful, really, it is." Her bright smile widened, "I owe you. This is going to help so much."

The tigress raised a heavy brow, "My, my, a favor? Perhaps I should be helping you more often"

"Hah! Well, we'll see. My Dad always said it doesn't pay to be in debt."

"Still, you should talk to Bogo about it. If Frank Is going to be as helpful as you think, it might be good to see what he got drummed out for"

Judy tapped her lips with her pen, "Drugs, it's going to be drugs. But you're right, I will, right now. Thanks Purrphy, you're a life saver!" she said, bouncing off her seat, and heading through the ZPD.

Purrphy chuckled to herself, taking a slow drink from her mug as Judy disappeared into the ZPD. It felt nice to help such a cute little bunny. Not that she'd tell Hopps that. After all, cute was their word.

* * *

Chief Bogo was a little less forthcoming than Purrphy, in the same way that being stuck with a lead pipe was a little less desirable than being poked in the arm. It had been like pulling teeth from the cape buffalo, except with every extracted tooth of knowledge was a gruff insinuation that it was none of her business. But still, he gave up what she needed, if only just. Which seemed odd to her. She got the feeling Bogo wasn't stonewalling her on purpose, but…

Exiting Bogo's office, Judy thought on what she knew now. Frank had been a ZPD officer in Vice, but had been all but drummed out after some of the evidence locker went missing over a year ago. He would have got the book thrown at him, but coppers were just as thick as thieves, and no one is going to point their finger at their mates, for good or ill.

Still, he was out on his ass, and had shacked up with Strongpaw (which was a company Bogo had Opinions on). Strongpaw was pretty tight lipped on its exact clients, but Bogo did suspect they catered to people not on the up and up. Nick knew the street; he might know something about them. She would just have to pay him a visit, and that's always a good way to end the day in Judy's book.

Of course, the first thing she had to do was figure out why Purrphy was hiding behind the potted plant in the hall.

Judy padded up behind the tigress, ears flipped up and alert as he glanced around. "So…" the little rabbit whispered, "Are we stalking something?"

Purrphy made a noise like a dying mouse, all strangled and squeaky, and echoing through the precinct. She shivered, the fur on her neck and tail fluffing out, and those feline eyes opening with a snap. The hulking tigress blushed, burning with embarrassment, "Oh, uh, hey Hopps. Sure, we're stalking things."

Judy grinned, all chipper amusement, "Really? Are we really?"

Purrphy slumped, "Well… The opposite of stalking"

"Hiding, then"

She snapped her fingers together, "That's the one"

Judy's nose twitched, "And can I ask why you are hiding Sergeant?" She spared a glance at Bogo's door, not but a few meters away, "Cause if you are hiding from Bogo… Well, this isn't the best spot is it?"

The tigress groaned, sliding down to sit on the floor and lean against the wall, which was good for Judy. That nearly put her at eye level.

"My boyfriend's downstairs"

Judy laughed. Purrphy blushed

"Hey, this is a huge problem." the tigress huffed, "I saw him with Clawhauser, he has a box with him. You know, a box, the tiny kind"

Judy smirked, "I thought cats loved boxes."

Purrphy rolled her eyes, "The tiny box, the type that rings come in. I saw him showing Clawhauser you see? You get my problem now?"

Fluffy rabbity ears drooped at that moment, "Oooooh, so, uh, don't want to let him down then?"

"What? No, I love him to pieces. I just don't see why he has to do it at work!"

Judy gave that tigress a long, knowing look. "Some would consider that romantic. I've read books about that sort of thing. You know, it's cute. He knows what he wants." the little rabbit leaned over and gave Purrphy a poke, "And what he wants is youuuuuu"

Purrphy just buried her head in her hands

The little rabbit sat down next to the massive woman, one paw patting her on the thigh "Hey, you're going to do fine. Just take a deep breath." Judy took a moment, thinking to herself, "I mean, if there was someone I, uh, loved, I would want him to show it." For a moment, her heart thrilled at the thought, warm and ever so bittersweet.

Purrphy just sighed, opened her mouth, and-

Bogo's door slammed open, the hulking Cape Buffalo stepping outside, door handle in one hand, and a folder in the other. His voice boomed, "Sergeant! Take these files down to Clawhauser"

The tigress blanched, struggling to her feat, "Sir! I-"

Bogo thrust the folder at the tigress, eyes stern and piercing, "Now, sergeant"

Purrphy gulped, eyes terrified as she took the folder, and scampered (which was quite the feat for a tiger) down the stairs. Judy smiled. Bogo grunted.

"That was real sweet of you, sir"

"I don't know what you are talking about Hopps." The buffalo snorted, eyes following Purrphy, "And I don't care"

Judy didn't need help to figure that one out. It was nice though, knowing that some people just needed a push to find their courage. It was nice knowing there were people around to give that push.

She really hoped that was the case at least.

* * *

It still amazed Judy that Nick never wanted to drive the squadcar. She had always figured him for the type. Not that she minded. Having all that power under her feet was intoxicating. The price to pay for it was Nick giving her the business every so often and flipping on the radio, but that was really barely a problem. She rather liked it actually.

Nick tapped his phone beside her as the two sped down the Zootopia streets. Not fast of course, but just enough to give that bunny a little rush. She could quit any time she wanted. She wasn't Flash, after all. Still, she did have to put up with the peanut gallery…

"So, Carrots, are we taking the long way because you keep on missing the turn offs, or is it something else?" The Fox grinned, mirrored shades helping that smile gain just a little extra smugness. "Don't tell me that I've been distracting you with my roguish charm."

Judy laughed, feeling a knot in her stomach for a moment, "Har har har, Wilde. No, There's construction on the north, so I am going to take the scenic route."

"Ah, and here I was hoping you just wanted to spend more time with me. I'm hurt."

Judys heart hammered in her breast, "Well, hey, can I can have multiple reasons for doing things. I can multitask." she said, giving that fox her best little sly look.

Nick grinned and then looked away, "So, we're not going to check out our dancer friend?"

The little rabbit felt her heart sink. He always did this, he always pulled back whenever she responded to those little flirts. Even the lightest little flirt back, and he just shut her down. It was infuriating. She would have thought he was trying to send her a message if he just didn't keep sending out his OWN little flirts.

The whole thing was exhausting. She wondered if other bunnies had this problem.

She liked Nick. He was funny, smart, maybe not all that classically educated, but… Worldly. She wanted to know more about him, she wanted him to open up to her, she wanted to open up to him. But Nick was a closed case, and nothing got off that he didn't want to. And what had first started as curiosity had grown and grown over their partnership. Something about that fox just got to her.

It was dumb to even think about it though. Bogo would have them both suspended if anything happened after all. But still…

Judy gave a warm little grin, with just a little smugness to it as she nudged over her bulging binder of notes. "Nope! We're going to pay a little visit to the Landlord, Oliver Green. He lives up in Tundratown, in what seems to be a nice place. I think we can get some information out of him."

Nick gave a doubtful expression. "See, I don't really think we need to Carrots, something is up with that Gazelle, I can feel it."

"Ah, now, I'm not saying you're wrong, but I've been thinking. This brawl is going to destroy this Lone Digger. Nothing can really stop it now. Maybe if Callaham is really clever and ends up being cleared of all and any blame, which isn't likely." Judy took them into the tunnel, "Then maybe she can pull herself out of it all. But the property is probably going to go back to Green. Which is interesting, because I made some calls, and apparently Mr. Green has been trying to get Callaham to give up her lease to the place for the last six months."

In the dim light of the tunnel, Nick looked pensive, "And he can't just, you know, evict Callaham?"

"Ah ha! See, that's the fun part. The Lone Digger is ancient. Like a really, reallllly old club, and the old agreement pretty much gives the renter free reign as long as the pay the rent. Our friend Green here, well, he's been trying to fight that. But the courts are not really budging on that. Which is probably because if these court documents are right, he's being a bit of a prick about it."

Nick laughed, "God, what a dumb contract. I mean, good for the renter, but still."

"Well, it is dumb, and outdated, and dumbly outdated, but it's a nice little bit of legalese that is still holding on. Now, this is only a hunch, but I think Green was trying to get Callaham to sell."

Nick placed his paw over his heart, "No!"

Judy rolled her eyes and giggled a bit, "Shocking, right? But this does give him a motive for what I really think he did, which is get some hired muscle from Strongpaw to stir up some trouble. He's rich enough that he could give them a little extra for their time."

Nick rubbed his chin, "So, you think that he wanted to stir up trouble… And this whole thing got out of control, huh?" He chewed his lip a moment, "So, Mr. Green might be why is happened, but our dancer, she might be a link to why it happened so badly."

Judy spared a paw to give nick a little finger-gun point, "Bingo."

Nicks expression under his mirrored shades was unreadable, "Well, it's a nice little theory you got there."

"Well, if you have another one, I'm all ears."

"Ah, well, you're at least 30% ears."

Nick Smiled. Judy groaned, but smiled back.

And then the harsh glare of setting sunlight on snow as the exited into Tundra Town. Judy let out a little sigh, "You know; I really do love this part of town. When I first moved to Zootopia I actually thought of getting a place here. I mean, I didn't cause it's so cold, but it's cheap, and just so pretty."

The fox looked out the window at the artificial wintery wonderland, "Mmm, you know, I've seen your apartment Carrots. You might actually want to start looking for another place."

Judy gave him a look, "And I've seen your place. You could stand a bigger, well, a cleaner space at least, too."

"Carrots, you live in a room that makes a shoebox look spacious, whereas I have a stately one-bedroom affair. You don't get to tell me to find a new place."

"There hasn't been a day you haven't complained about the water heater Nick. Besides, my place isn't that bad, it's got… Character."

"And my hole in the wall has a rustic homey feel. Also, even _you_ have to take a few extra seconds to think of nice things to say about your neighbors."

"No, no, they're just… Passionate?" The little rabbit teased. Icy road crackled under their tires as they drove in silence for a long moment, "You know, if we pooled out money, I bet we could actually get a halfway decent apartment."

Another long silence. Judy did her best not to sneak a glance at Nick while she was driving. He didn't dismiss her right away this time.

The fox shrugged, "Ah, I guess so carrots, but I'm really attached to that water heater. I've been thinking of giving it a name. I always wanted a pet you know, but I still don't know what to feed a water heater. Maybe I should get a book about it?"

"Mm, well, I'm sure you'll be a real responsible appliance owner."

"Really though fluff, are you sure you could handle seeing me all day? I've been told that I have an effect on women, and I can't be responsible for what prolonged contact would do to you."

"Oh, I think I could stand to see a bit more of you." the little rabbit said slyly, and then moved on before he could pull away, "Besides, you would have your own room. Those do have doors you know"

"Are we actually talking about this? Is this a thing? Have I hit my head somewhere back in the tunnel?"

"Relax hotshot, it's just a thought. Anyway, we're here." the bunny chuckled out, pulling up to an ominously frosted over Tundra Town tower. She gave Nick a look as she hopped out form the car, "Just think about it. We could both use a new space."

Nick groaned, stepping from the squadcar to the crunch of snow, "Mm, sure, but for now I'm going to try and chill about it"

"Was that a pun? Do not tell me that you are that unoriginal"

"Perish the thought Carrots."

* * *

Mr. Green was a busy and worried man, if the piles of papers, haggard face, and slightly rumpled tie were any indication. His antlers looked a bit scruffy too. Perhaps it was the best he seemed to be doing his work by phone. Of course, he might have looked better if Judy hadn't decided to ambush him at his office with questions like this.

In her defense, it was working pretty well for her.

If the temperature was a little higher the Landlord would have been sweating under the piercing gaze of those Lavender eyes, "Ok, yes, I admit it, there was a vested interest in getting Callaham to sell, but I didn't do anything! Well, Ok, ok, I did pressure the pig. I might, MIGHT, have implied that I could make things difficult for her."

Mr. Green looked back to Judy. Judy kept her face neutral, little fist nearly blurring as she took notes. The elk gulped.

"Which, look, it wasn't a threat. I can't do anything about it. I mean, ha, hah! Look, it took you less than a day to come and knock down my door. I'm not that stupid to try anything like… Like this." The man rubbed his hooves together, a sound much like grinding stones. He sat down heavily behind his desk, slumping back, "Anyway, I really don't know anything else. I just was on the phone with Callaham when it happened. I was telling her that I was through, uh, playing nice."

Judy tilted her head, eyes focused on him, "And what is playing rough?"

"Honestly, I hadn't got that far."

Liar.

"That's alright sir, we're just pursuing all avenues of inquiry. I am sure we'll get to the bottom of this." Judy said ever so brightly. She'd got a lot better at hiding her emotions lately, and showing what she wanted to. And what she wanted now was to look like a helpful little police officer. Nick had taken a different tactic, and was simply leaning against the wall with his arms closed, smiling that smug smile of his.

Still, Judy pressed on, "But on that note, why exactly do you want the Lone Digger's space?"

Mr. Green groaned, hooves over his face, "Ugh, in a perfect world I wouldn't, I really wouldn't. But that whole area of town is getting gentrified, and they are putting in a lot of middle-upper class housing there. Which is great, I have a lot of properties there. But the Lone Digger." He sighed, "The Lone Digger is causing problems, and my properties are getting a whole lot of pushback from, ugh, concerned moral groups."

"They're against the Club being around families then?" Nick said with a little laugh, "See, and here I would have killed for that sort of thing at fourteen"

The elk frowned, "They're against it being there at all, and they are willing to let anyone know. It's been getting bad for the other renters I have in the area, and they are threatening to up and leave on me. If all the ones threatening to find other properties left, I'd be ruined. If only half left, I'd be crippled."

Judy bit her lower lip gently for a moment, buck teeth protruding slightly, "And Callaham doesn't want to move somewhere else? Surely she's also feeling pushback."

The elk snorted, "Oh, she has been. You haven't seen the graffiti. But she's fine with just making rent, keeping the old guard rotating in and out. Thinks it adds color to the town." He frowned "Her brother used to rent from me, and she got the lease from him. I think she keeps the place around because of that." Mr. Green leaned back in his chair, drawing one hoof over his face, slowly, "God, what a mess."

Judy gave her best optimistic face, "Well, glass half full, the property is all but yours now, right?"

"Hah! As if that was a help. Slaughterhouse isn't much more for property values than a strip club."

Judy took a moment, and flipped her book closed, "Alright sir. I think that is enough for now. We'll call you if anything develops. Come on Nick. We've got one more stop."

The two officers left the room, heavy door closing behind them. And Judy grabbed Nicks arm, tugging his ear down to her mouth. "Keep walking." she hissed, her voice softer than a mouse trying to sneak out during a church service, "I'll catch up."

Nick raised a brow, and then grinned. As the fox left, he took steps a bit heavier than he normally would, making sure he was heard in the hallway. Judy took a deep breath, and the quietly, placed one of those big bunny ears along the door.

She could hear everything like this; the creak of Mr. Greens chair, his hollow and defeated sigh, and of course, the tapping of hooves against the smartphone.

"Hey. Hey yeah, me again. No It can't wait. You told me that your service was discrete and that there wasn't going to be an issue. No? Well then why were two cops in here just giving me the third fucking degree? No you- Alright, Ok, I'm calming down. Alright, I get it, I'm calm. Just… Fix this alright? Cause if you can't you better believe that the last thing I do is taking you and your silly company down with me."

Judy smiled. These big ears were so helpful sometimes.


	5. Chapter 4

Night had crept over Zootopia like an uninvited guest; far too soon and intent on overstaying its welcome.

Nick yawned, a big and exhausted groan that reverberated throughout the Squadcar and over to Judy, who despite her resistance, made her own yawn. They were both exhausted, having gotten up early and having stayed up late. Both had managed longer shifts before, but the bone-deep ache was still there.

This fast food wasn't helping much either, sitting in their stomachs like a greasy brick.

Judy huffed, leaning back in her seat, "Hnnnnnnn, getting those fries was a mistake." She groaned out, eyes closed and ears flopped over her face.

Nick felt incline to agree with her, tried to voice that thought, and burped like an ogre.

The little rabbit barely moved, her voice muffled beside him, "Gross."

Nick smothered a blush and laughed it off, "Could have been worse Carrots. But ugh, this was not our smartest move."

Judy grunted, hips wiggling in her seat for a moment, "Right, no more fast-food after five."

"Hey, whoa, back up, let's not be hasty. Maybe just not Beetle in the Box."

"Ugh."

This pseudo stakeout had been exhausting. It wasn't a real stakeout of course, and had little chance of working, but both officers had thought it might pay off. It's hadn't yet, but this was only what, two hours in? But they knew that call from Mr. Green must have been to Strongpaw, so here they would wait, keeping an eye on the local building of the business.

It was agonizing. The fast-food had been one thing, but Nick had been stewing for the last few hours. Judy may have brushed it off, but one thing still stayed lodged in his brain; Judy wanted to move in.

Of course she had couched it in a comfortable sort of friend situation, but he knew better. He knew how to run a hustle, and he wasn't about to get conned into constant close proximity. But what if she didn't mean it that way, what if she just wanted a better place? And would it really be that fucking bad? Oh god was he overthinking this? Was it getting hot in here?

Inwardly, Nick screamed.

Outwardly, Nick scratched his neck.

Judy didn't seem to notice any of that. Though, those ears did look big enough to pick up entirely internal screaming.

"Nick, you seem tense."

Shit.

"Uh, well, I hate to be crude here now Carrots, but I can't say that burger is sitting well."

Judy groaned, rolling into a sitting position as she peered out into the dark, "Nick, oh Nick, oh you sweet dumb fox." The rabbit flashed him a smile "Your tail has been twitching for the last two hours. Can't keep anything from me Mr."

Nick huffed "Well, aren't you just the natural detective, fluff?" He tucked his tail behind him, out of sight. Perhaps there was a place you could go to discipline treacherous tails, but still, he smiled, "And it's nothing, just anxious to get back home."

The rabbit yawned a bit, prodded into it by the very thought of home "That's a nice lie there Nick, I almost believed it."

Nick rubbed his trembled, groaning "Carrots, really, is this going to be a thing now? Did I miss a memo? Is it grill-Nick night?" he flashed a smile, "Did my mother put you up to this? She hasn't been able to get a straight answer out of me for years."

"Hah! As if. I don't even know where she lives, or what her name is. But I like to think she asked me in spirit."

"Oh, so those ears are big enough to pick up stray prayers now?"

"Only the ones that involve harassing you. Aren't you happy I care enough to listen?" The diminutive rabbit said, with exaggerated perkiness.

"Well, Carrots, I'm touched. No one else in my life uses their ears to drive me- Wait, movement!"

Both of them snapped to attention as in the darkness of the Strongpaw garage car lights sprung to light. They kept the car cold, hunkering low as they watched. Soon enough, a black sedan rolled out onto the street and then into the darkness.

Cautiously, the police followed.

ZPD cop cars could be quiet if you took them slow, big wheels rolling over black asphalt like a ghost, the engine growling low and almost predatory. They'd been designed that way of course, but it took a little finesse to make it work right. And that was a thing that Judy had been practicing for the last few months. Intensity on her face, mixing with a slow and hungry grin, the little rabbit pursued the black car. In this moment, Nick couldn't help but note she looked like a predator herself.

Well, it takes all sorts.

Nick was of a different mind on this, and a different job as well. Keen night eyes peered out into the black as both trailed through Tundra Town streets, and then back to the GPS on the dash. The fox huffed, focused, drumming his fingers nervously.

"Alright… Looks like they are going to take highway 78… Wait, wait no, They're headed on surface streets. Maybe Grand, or Bankka-uh, Bankkajur… Hold on I got this, Bankkajen."

"Nick, I can't tail them this close. I need you to make the call."

"Just hold on for a moment, hold on, hold on, give me a second."

"Nick…"

"Grand. Both go downtown, Grand's faster."

The squadcar turned, ice under the wheels crackling as they vanished down a side road. Silence filled the squadcar, until that dark car pulled out onto the same road a block ahead. Nick sighed heavily.

Judy's fingers drummed on the wheel, "You didn't know they were going to take this street did you."

Nick gave her a look, "Carrots, you put me on the spot there. Not much I can do besides guess."

"Yeah, but you picked Grand just because you couldn't pronounce Bankkayen."

"Bankkajen. The Y sound is a J"

"Right, that. You know what I mean"

"Well, I mean, there's no way to prove it now Carrots. I guess it's your word against mine. Annnnd keep your eyes on the road, I think they might have seen us…"

* * *

So that could have gone better.

It seems that the Strongpaw car HAD seen them, and was a hell of a lot better at driving than either of them. Judy could have probably caught them in a straight chase, but they were already out of sight before the two even knew what was happening. Judy had tried to give chase, but too little too late.

In retrospect, the reason was obvious: Both of them were dead on their feet. Nick had been slow giving the streets, and Judy had gunned the engine a few times. And there was that moment where they accidentally flicked the high beams. And, if one was counting, that time where the little rabbit zoned out and missed a street. And, perhaps, there was that time Nick literally fell asleep while they were at a stoplight.

The fast-food wasn't doing them any favors either.

They'd given up. Only for now though, Judy had stressed. Nick wasn't so optimistic. They'd followed the car all the way to Sahara Square, and lost them in the bustling nightlife of the city. And while limiting the search to the Sahara would have helped, who knew if that was where they were actually heading? He kept an eye on the license though. Every little bit would help.

Still, the ride back to the precinct was a tough trip and The bus home was looking to be even harder. The stakeout, tension, and in fact the entire day had just drained all they had to give. It was the home stretch, but Nicks legs felt like they were made of lead, and like his eyelids had weights on them.

Judy seemed to feel similarly, what with the way she had fallen asleep on his shoulder back on the bus ride. Her nose twitched as she tried to sleep, little paws on his forearm, and her tail twitching lightly. In other circumstances, Nick would have thought that cute (And he did, if just a little bit) but it was his stop now.

The fox groaned, nudging the rabbit, "Hey, Carrots." He grumbled, "Wake up, it's my stop, and as much as I'd love to become the new bus hobo, I kind of have a bed to be in."

Judy responded with a surprisingly compelling counterargument: "MMmmf, no, you stay. Yer warm"

Nick blinked, "Carrots, there are a number of problems with that." He looked up, the bus driver looked back, and he did not seem altogether sympathetic to his plight. He sighed, "Carrots, if I leave you here are you going to fall back asleep?"

Judy didn't answer, other than to lightly doze. Which, in its own way, was a pretty telling answer. It hadn't been the one he was hoping for.

Still, the fox huffed, sitting up and dragging Judy gently to her feet, "Alright bunny, come on, you're coming home with me tonight."

The rabbit stumbled to her feet, yawning loudly as she shuffled down the aisle with Nick, "Mmmmmpf, aren't you supposed to buy me dinner first?"

"Well, look at that, even half asleep and you've still got some fight in you. I must be rubbing off on you." Nick said, in an amazingly poor choice of words, "Besides, I paid for burgers. So, really, everything's fine. I am, after all, a gentleman"

Judy tried to answer, but whatever she said was lost even to Nicks ears.

It was a bit of a trial for both of them to keep moving, feet sluggish and eyes drooping, but eventually, against all odds, they made it to Nicks apartment. There was some fumbling for the lock, a grunt, and a slow sigh as his door swung open. Judy, again, had fallen asleep along his side. It wasn't surprising, she had given it her all, and now she was paying the price.

For once, Nicks 'economy of motion', or 'laziness' had worked in his advantage, he was the only one of them still on his feet. But even with all of that he was almost collapsing, eyes nearly refusing to open. When he told Judy about this later, he decided, he was going to keep that last part out of it. It was a much better story if he wasn't a shambling somnambulist towards the end.

Nick had to carry that little bunny across the threshold into his apartment, kicking he door closed behind him with a thud that made the pipes in the roof creak, and leak, just a bit. Nick groaned. Christ, what a dump. Judy shouldn't have to deal with this sort of thing. A bunch of space wasn't worth living in the basement of a building. It had served him well enough through the years, but you know, not the sort of place you bring a lady.

I mean, for one thing, there was only one place to sleep. Not really suited for guests of a less than intimate nature.

Oh well, time to improvise.

* * *

Judy woke up in a strange bed, which she felt was some cause for alarm.

The last thing she could remember had been pretending to 'accidentally' fall asleep on Nick during the bus ride. Which, it seemed, had been a bit more convincing that she had thought it was going to be. Who knew she had such great acting skills?

The little rabbit groaned, huffing slightly, stretching, and blinking those lavender eyes as she took stock of herself. This was pretty big bed, alright, warm and with a light covering over her. She wiggled her toes and hips, feeling it out.

Alright, she was wearing her uniform too… That was good, save for the weird sore lines along her body where it had bunched up. This would have been a lot less of a comfortable morning if she had been missing it. Or at least a much less relaxing morning. Then again, this Kevlar vest was really messing with her back right now.

Judy stared up at the ceiling, a crisscrossing maze of pipes and concrete. She was in a basement, and a basement mind you that was probably not up to code. That was worrying, and the cold brick walls were not all that comforting either. She groaned, catching cheap and somewhat dingy calendar hanging up with a vixen in swimwear and a compromising pose.

Ah, good, she was at Nicks. It was just the right blend of cheap and slightly skeevy. Or as he would describe it; Homey. Judy sat up, yawning, the sunlight filtering through a tiny little window as she stretched. A grunt, a huff, she rubbed her eyes and took final stock of her situation.

Nick wasn't here, but what WAS here was a chaste wall of pillows between her and the other end of the bed.

Judy smirked to herself, moving up and looking over that engineering marvel, and of course Nick was there, sleeping like a baby (And really like a baby too, which is to say sprawled out, motionless, with his mouth open, and drooling). Judy grinned softly to herself. That was just like him. He wanted her to have the bed, but well, wasn't about to take the couch himself. A compromise. Or at least a situation where he still got what he wanted.

A little furry paw nudged Nick, Judy speaking softly down at him, "Hey, Nick, wake up, it's time to get going." She said, managing to balance atop the great wall of Nick's bed.

The fox groaned, lightly swatting at the hand, still mostly asleep. Perhaps entirely asleep actually, she didn't know how his autopilot worked.

Judy tried again, "Niiiiiiiiick, wake up."

Nick huffed, "Nnnnnf, not now Carrots, m'tired"

"Nick, we have work, and a case to solve"

"Ughhh they're not going to get less dead in five more minutes." Even sleeping, Nick had a masterful grasp of work avoidance.

Judy sighed, a soft smile creeping onto her lips "Nick, I'd love to help you sleep, I really would," she nearly purred, "But if you're late for work again, Bogo's going to put you on his horn and make you spin" she said, voice all saccharine sweetness.

Nick groaned, eyes opening fully now, and turning to look up at that bunny, "Has anyone told you that working at that police force has eroded some of your country naiveté' fluff?" she groaned, "What would your parents say?"

Judy winked, "My parents don't have to know. Just in the same way they don't need to know I spent the night with a fox."

Nicks eyes shot open, a blush of embarrassment flooding through him, "Woah! Hey, wait, that's-"

But Judy was gone, hopping over him onto the floor, looking over her shoulder with her tongue sticking out in a little tease, "See? Now you'll never get back to sleep. Come on, we need to stop back at my place so I can change."

Nick groaned. That bunny was not good for his heart.

* * *

Breakfast was a bagel for both of them, and the stomach shriveling fear of being late. As far as nourishment, not the best, but the extra rush of adrenaline in a mad dash towards the precinct really put one's normal morning in perspective.

It wasn't really until about thirty minutes after the fact that Judy had realized they could have called in. Nick didn't seem to appreciate the comedy of the situation; which Judy thought was such a shame. Then again, nothing was probably fun for a fox who didn't have his morning beauty regimen. Judy had to admit, the fox, uh, smelled a little bit.

She probably should have listened when he wanted to go back for his musk-mask. It could really have used some masking.

Not that it would have changed too much. After sleeping in a bachelors bed, one that had been used for upwards of a decade, she reeked of Nick. It was a light smell that just clung to her fur. She should have really taken a shower, but that would have made them properly late, and then they would have really caught hell from Bogo. It was fine, someone would have to be really nosy to make a comment about it.

They avoided the front desk when they came and left. Best not to risk Clawhauser. Besides, they had work to do.

Nick hated the rainforest district. Well, no, maybe hated was the wrong word. He loathed the rainforest district. It was one of the places that Nick would have preferred to have had foxes banned from. It was wet, mold got into everything. Oh it was pretty, but no amount of pretty can help slipping on a vine staircase and cracking your head open. And there was that whole time he was almost mauled. It was wet, damp, and cluttered. It reminded him of his apartment.

Climbing the four hundred steps up to the Ms. Amorelle Dubois' apartment (Their dancing girl witness) was a chore. There would have been a time that Nick would have had to take it slow, but the police academy had weeded most of that out of him. He was more fit than he had been in his life, and even with that the soaring stairways of the district irked him.

Maybe he was just looking for reasons to be upset though. He'd been going almost non-stop for a full day now, and had hardly any time to relax. Judy didn't seem to have that problem, bright eyes and bushy tailed. Things got to her, but she always seemed to be able to spring back at a moment's notice. Nick couldn't, and he envied her. Oh, he didn't let people get to him, but things? Things could set him on edge.

Ms. Dubois' apartment was modest, less moist than the outside, and warm. It also had its own personal doorman, her hulking, rather angry boyfriend. He was another gazelle, with a square jaw and broad shoulders, and did not look happy to have visitors. The way he stomped at the floor with his hoof put Nick in mind of all those talks in the academy about violent trampling's.

David, so he was named, fumed at the doorway, looming and blocking any path as he glared down at the tiny police, "Hey, alright, sure, you wanna talk. Whatever." He snorted, eye narrowing with dangerous intent, "But Am's still recovering, and I don't think I'm gonna stress her out anymore, alright?"

Nick frowned, and Judy sighed, "It's fine sir, this isn't a warrant, she's within her rights, but we really need to talk with her. She's the only witness right now, and every little thing could help."

The fox chuckled a bit, "And hey, the soon we get this over with, the less she has to worry about it. Waiting for the cops can't be good for her, right?"

The gazelle grunted, lips tightly pursed, hooves drumming on the side of the door. A little stop, a roll of the shoulders. "I want you both to leave."

Judy groaned, her hands on her hips, "Alright sir. Is there a better time for us to drop by?"

"I dunno. Later. A week, whatever."

The rabbit frowned "David, was it?" she said with a terse little tone, "I understand you are trying to help her, and that is why we are asking now, alright? But we need to talk to her. This is very important." A sigh, "And if you keep putting this off, this could get worse. Court orders, hanging around the house… It could get really bad."

David ground his teeth, and Nick grinned, "And, you know, the fact that you seem to be keeping us from her, and not letting her talk to us… Kind of makes me think you've done something with her, don't it Carrots?"

"Does seem pretty skeevy Nick."

The gazelle growled, stomped the floor, and huffed, "Fine, I'll get her out here so she can tell you herself."

In the hallway, Judy and Nick looked at each other. The fox smirked, scratching the back of his neck, "So, protective, or hiding something?"

Judy tapped her chin, "Protective. If he was hiding, I'd think he's have a better lie?"

"Well, he could just be a bad liar. There's always that. Tell ya what; Five dollars on it?"

Judy rolled her eyes. Nick smiled back, "Hey, come on, 50/50 odds. That's pretty good."

Judy laughed, pushing Nick away as the door opened to reveal and elegant, and slightly haggard looking Gazelle. She stood awkwardly, her eyes boring intent little holes into the officers.

When she spoke though, she did with care. Every word was perfectly enunciated, but just… Just a little off. "You are ZPD. Why are you wanting to speak to me? I have said all I could to the officers at the… The accident."

Judy brightened, smiling as happily as she could, "Ah, yes, don't worry ma'am, we are just working on collecting more evidence, is a bit of… Can we come in?"

That gazelle blinked and then held her hooves up, "Ah, please. I am sorry. Slower. I cannot understand."

Nick raised a brow "English isn't your first language?"

The Gazelle didn't seem to hear him. Nick Coughed, with no response.

Judy's eyes gleamed, "Sorry miss, but are you deaf?"

* * *

"Well that explains why she didn't stop dancing. Girl wasn't even aware of that whole… Uh, situation."

Judy leaned back in her seat, legs crossed as the two looked out over the rainforest skyline. Trees swayed in the bright sun, water gleaming off wet leaves, and branches swaying with an almost ethereal grace. An island of the nature world right at the heart of civilization. It was breathtaking.

For a moment, she didn't say anything, and then turned on the radio, letting a light and slightly tinny music filter through. She sighed, smiling softly, "Well, it explains it. Though I'm not sure what else it explains."

Nick shrugged "Well, it doesn't really have to explain anything Carrots. Just lets us cross another thing off out checklist of questions." He held up his notebook, "I mean, it got rid of like half the questions I had about this case. What I really want to know is where those Strongpaw guys got to."

They sat there for a little while longer, the music filling that little car. Judy's ears twitched, her hips wiggling a bit. There was something about the way Nick was smiling right now, something smug and more than a little…

Judy frowned, "Yeah, I know, if I had focused we could have caught up with them." She said with a little grumble, the pop-song in the background crackling and distorting for a moment.

Nick looked perplexed for a moment, "Well, yeah, but I don't think either of us was really ready for that." He grumbled slightly, looking out the passenger window, "We should have called someone else in."

The fur pricked up on Judy's neck, "Oh, what, you think Fangmeyer would have been better on this?"

"Well, anyone who wasn't falling asleep at the wheel." Nick said with a light little laugh

The little rabbit ground her teeth a moment, "Well, Nick, if you had a problem with it, you could have told me. Instead of dragging me to get fast food, you know."

Nick looked at Judy a moment, perplexed, "Uh, alright, maybe I am reading this wrong, but are you yelling at me? Because it sounds quite a bit like when we first met."

Judy felt her ears burn red, "I am not yelling at you! But if you feel you have to snipe at me for last night, well, I think I can sass you back too."

Nick blinked, "Carrots, is something wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong Nick. If you can't take what you dish out though, maybe-"

"Woah, woah, woah there, slow down fluff. I can take what I dish out. The fact that you are getting bent out of shape at nothing is just a little hypocritical, don't you think?"

"I'm not getting bent out a shape about anything! You're the one who has to be passive aggressive about whatever is pissing you off!"

"Since when do I do that?"

Judy laughed, the radio giving a little burst of static through the poorly wired speakers. "Oh, really? Well what about last night, huh? I ask you what is wrong, and you try and shift the blame. I try and talk about having a roommate, you are try and turn it around on me. That's all you do Nick! It's like trying to talk to a brick wall."

Nick growled, his rumble filtering with the crackling speakers, "Oh that's rich coming from you fluff. You just can't even seem to back off can you? You're allllways up in my business. Oh Nick, let's take this case. Oh Nick, let's move in together. You just do things, and assume I'll follow along like your, what, your underling?"

Judy gasped, and then frowned, "Well maybe I wouldn't have to push you into things if you would just tell me what you wanted! Nick, you always try and evade things. Could you ever just give me a strai- wait."

Judy stopped. Nick looked at her angry, confused, and more than a little frustrated, "What? Come on, give it to me."

Judy huffed "Hold on, hold on." The little rabbit's ears twitched, and she sighed, "Oh."

"Oh? Oh what? What character flaw are you going to poke at now Judy? Is my tail too fluffy? Do I wear my shades too often?"

Judy rolled her eyes, "Shut up." She managed, and then flicked off the radio. A pause, her ears twitching again. "Oh…"

Nick made a gesture that covered a whole spectrum of confused fury in only a few rapid movements of his paws.

Judy rubbed her temples with her paws, "Nick, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get mad at you. It's not your fault."

Nick frowned, flabbergasted, confused, and a full thesaurus of synonyms, "Then what the hell was that for?"

The little rabbit closed her eyes groaning a bit, "It's… Oh this is dumb. It was the speakers. There's something wrong with them, and the noise… Well, some sounds can really get under a rabbits' fur."

Nick barked a harsh, disbelieving laugh, "So, what, the radio compelled you to chew me out? Well, maybe next time I need to throw a hissy fit it can be because of an airplane, or a weather balloon. Or swamp gas."

"No, it's because I've been upset that you don't tell me things Nick," Judy said, almost with a pout, "But that high pitched whine just… Made everything a bit more… I don't know, upsetting." She groaned, ears drooping, head in her paws. "I'm sorry Nick. I'm just frustrated and I think we're running into a dead end."

Nick didn't say anything for a long moment, looking down at Carrots, and then back out on the rainforest. It really was beautiful.

Nick sighed.

"It's alright Carrots. You didn't mean it. Or whatever, I don't know, maybe it's a rabbit thing. You've got big enough ears for it." The fox chuckled a bit, looking over at the bunny, "And… Yeah, I know, I pull away a lot. Just know that's it's never about you Carrots. I know you mean well, just." Nick trailed off "I've been handling things alone for a long, long time, and the last time I really got help from someone, it burned me bad, so just, you know, understand it's not about you, alright?"

In her paws, Judy smiled, "Ah, well, then about sharing an apartment…"

Nick gave her a look, sticking his tongue out, "Too soon, carrots, too soon." And then laughed, "We'll have this talk again later, and maybe without the radio on."

Judy laughed, "Yeah, I mean with the radio on things might get violent."

Both paused for a moment. Staring out into nothing.

"Callaham said they had someone work on the sound system four months ago, right?"

"Yeah, that's when the club started to have problems."

Another long pause

"It can't just be a shitty sound system. That's insane."

"Yeah… But a shitty sound system, kids drunk out of their minds, three wolves popping Primal…" Judy blinked once, "He knew. Green knew that would put people on edge, make them act out! He just wanted something that would make Callaham have leave, or get arrested, or something! That's why he hired Strongpaw."

Nick flipped his mirrored shades back on his face. "We need to get back to the precinct."

Key in the ignition and radio turned off, Judy gunned the squadcar, and both of them roared down rain slicked streets to the ZPD.

* * *

It's wasn't until the two walked past the front desk on the way from the motor pool and past Clawhauser, that the day took a more surprising turn.

The chubby cheetah had been chatting with McHorn, laughing, and generally bending the poor rhino's ear with his latest little fancy, only to stop immediately in his sentence. A twitch of the nose, a flick of the ear, and intent eyes focused on Both Nick and Judy.

Judy waved. Nick flipped up his shades. Clawhauser gasped.

"Oh. Em. Goodness." the heavyset desk sergeant exclaimed, voice dripping with a lust for gossip even the most tabloid journal couldn't match, "You two DIDN'T."

Nick stopped, staring right at the cheetah with an unreadable expression behind his shades. Judy tilted her head. McHorn grunted.

Nick grinned, all teeth and confidence, "What, make the uniform look good? Well, it took some effort, but yeah, me and Carrots are the best looking officers on the force, yeah. Sorry Horn, better luck tomorrow am I right? Hang in there buddy."

Clawhauser giggled, jiggling a bit as well as he leaned forward against the desk "Oh you two, don't be coy." The man beamed "I can tell. Ruffled fur, almost late, out late last night on a stakeout…" Those ponderous brows wiggled "I know how things are going."

Nick froze. Judy blushed, stammering. McHorn finally looked interested.

The big cat chuckled, "Mmm, so, office romance, how about that? Oh this need to go riiiiiiight to my twitter feed."

Judy glanced at Nick, who seemed to be giving his best impression of a statue, and sighed. Well, this was up to her it seemed. With a grunt, the lithe little bunny hopped right up onto the counter and stared Clawhauser in the eyes. "Benjamin, nothing happened. I just crashed at his place and we overslept. Nothing happened."

The cheetah gave her a doubtful look "Oh really? Even about that thing we talked about."

Judy Flushed red, and glanced at Nick. Luckily, he still seemed to be hoping that is he stayed perfectly still everyone would forget about him. The rabbit sighed, "Yes, even about that thing. It's fine, nothing happened. It was just a sleepover." She paused for a moment, "Really, it was, he made like a whole barrier of cushions."

"Ouch."

"I know right?" The little rabbit groaned, giving Nick a look. Even now he seemed to still be mildly catatonic, and she shrugged, "Still, nothing happened, it's fine. We're just friends."

"Girl, really now, you need to talk to him about-"

"-about how fraternization is a suspendable offense?" she hissed, "Yes, yes I do, thank you Clawhauser, for your discretion."

The cheetah laughed, "Oh come on, it's not like anything would really-"

Officer McHorn coughed, "As fun as watching, what is this, the Gossip Girls? Has been, I actually do have a police question." The big rhino rumbled. With a slow and somewhat clumsy hand, the officer offered a photograph, "I just got handed a break in, and probably a missing person case, and since it's the sort of shady lowlife Wilde tends to know…" The Rhino grunted, "I thought I'd see what you two thought."

Judy took the photo and McHorn laughed "Or, maybe I should come back after class, or whatever highschool bullshit ya two are doing."

Judy choose to take that as banter, and hopped down from the counter, "Well, I've never seen him before, but…" she waved the photo in front of Nick "Hey, Nick, you with us again?"

The fox snatched that photo from her, grumbling. He gave that little picture a look "Ah, damnit." He growled, "I actually do know this guy."

"Well, you know everyone." Judy and McHorn said in near unison.

Nick made a face "Yeah, this Jimmy… Forgot his last name. But he works as a sound engineer. Doesn't ask a lot of questions, and is pretty willing to work on shady…projects." Nick paused, eyes snapping wide. "Judy, we need to go. Horn, I think I know where he would have gone, and who was after him. Just, uh, we'll get him."

Horn shifted his body, muscles straining against his uniform as he frowned, "You'll find him?"

"Sure, our case. We've got dibs!" Nick yelled back, nearly dragging Judy back towards the motor pool.

Behind him, McHorn Sputtered. "Dibs? What the hell do you mean by dibs?"


	6. Chapter 5

Judy loved driving. Craved might have been a better word in truth. But she did not like driving while Nick was getting undressed. For one thing, it was unprofessional, and for another it was distracting. Of course, what really bothered her was that she wasn't supposed to look.

What? Rabbits can be curious, it's not just a big cat thing.

Another disappointment; This wasn't for her benefit. Of course, a strip show in a speeding car was a little unlikely at the best of times, and maybe a bit more forward than her mother would have preferred, and certainly a bit limited in space, but she could have appreciated the novelty. Nick had got to spend somewhere around four hours staring at a stripper yesterday, why couldn't she get a little sugar? Life could be so unfair in the big city. At least in Bunnyburrow there wasn't a shortage of hares willing to strut their stuff. Though, that was actually sort of the problem with Bunnyburrow.

Grumbling inwardly, and outwardly focused, she kept her eyes on the road.

Nick was slipping back into his old clothes, struggling into his slacks at the same time as he dragged his shirt over a fuzzy torso. The tie had been tied already, ages ago. It was likely that it had only ever been tied once, actually, and never untied. Judy took the tiniest little peek.

Nick was a briefs man, who knew?

Despite herself, Judy was having a little trouble listening to Nick as they careened through the city streets. It was only when they hit the tunnel, and it was harder to pay attention to Nicks changing, that she was able to focus properly. Oh, Nick had been talking that whole time? Well, that could get a bit awkward, maybe?

"… It's a good thing though that he's not particularly chatty though. Otherwise he'd probably know I was a cop? And trust me, he does not need to know that the police want to pick him up. Because if I'm right, and he did bolt, which he is super good at let me tell you, he's going to be ready to do it again at a moment's notice."

Judy nodded, smiling brightly. Oh, good, she came back into the conversation at the right time.

"So, I am thinking, I go in first, try and talk him down. He likes me, everyone likes me, and maybe I can convince him to give a statement? You know, something that can tie him to Mr. Green. So, uh." The fox straightened his tie, "So you know, just park a few streets down. It'll be fine, just don't be seen."

Judy frowned, "Right, of course. So, uh," she coughed "So what make you think he'll be here?"

Nick scratched the back of his neck, "Yooooou don't want to know."

"Nick."

"Well, I mean, you really don't. It's a bit illegal? I haven't ratted him out yet because it's a bit small time but, uh."

Judy groaned, "Nick, come on, I need to know now. It'll be off the record."

"It's his Mom's house. Which would be fine, except his mother died about five years ago, and, and this is just a possibility, so no need to make a fuss, he might be still collecting her social-security."

"Nick! That's fraud!"

"Well, yeah, that's why I didn't want to tell you."

Judy groaned, turning onto another street with a little more force than particularly needed, "Alright, fine, I won't say a thing for a month, and then we will send someone to check on him. You can give him the heads up, happy?"

Nick chuckled, "Well, I'll have to be real persuasive. When that normally happens he has to drag her out of storage."

"What."

"So, apparently, you can more than just bugs taxidermied up north."

Judy's mouth fell open, "Sweet cheese and crackers, Nick!"

Nick laughed uncomfortably, "No, no, it's all legal, I checked, just, you know, he keeps mum in the closet until someone needs to see that she is around, and he just, you know, puts her in a chair and says she is very old and sleepy." A pause, "And a little dusty too."

Judy nearly gagged, "How do you even know this?"

The fox smirked, looking down at her, "Who do you think helped move her back in? Badgers can be heavy, even when full of sawdust."

Judy stared straight ahead for a long moment, fingers curling the wheel, "I didn't hear anything. This never happened, I don't even want to know. Also, you're gross. Both of you, just… Just the very worst."

Nick laughed, "Oh come on Carrots, I thought police officers were supposed to be open to people's burial beliefs. Did your pastor back in Bunny Burrow tell you mummification was a sin?" The fox coughed, "Really though, it was in her will. Damndest thing. He never told me why, actually." Another long pause, "Now that I think about it, he could have got it forged."

"I'm sorry, what? I've blanked this whole conversation from my mind, you ghoul."

"Hey, you don't know me. I've got a lot of other-, wait, wait stop here."

The squadcar trundled to stop along the sandy streets of Sahara Square. The heat was oppressive, Beating down not only from the sun, but also the high rise heaters in the distance. Every gust of wind was like the opening of an oven. Suddenly, as she watched Nick leave the car and then almost literally wilt as he walked down the sidewalk, Judy felt a little better about being left behind in the Squadcar.

Only a little though.

* * *

So there is only so much you can do alone in a car.

Judy had pretty much exhausted all of the distractions available to her. High score on her phones terrible games? Done. Exploring the car to see if anyone had left anything interesting behind? Done. Surfed the web and regretted clicking on a link? Done. Steal Nicks left behind shades and wear them? Well, she was in the middle of that, but it really seemed like that wasn't going to last her too long.

The little rabbit groaned, leaning back in her seat and idly slapping the dash with her feet. This was torture. This was it, punishment for all her life's misdeeds. If she had known that hell was waiting in a parked car she might have made different choices.

Of course, the thing that really separated this from divine punishment was her ability to just leave it. Of course, That would be bad, right? Nick had wanted her as backup, or something, but she was going stir crazy! She couldn't take it. She'd just send Nick a text, and then she would take a walk nearby. That wouldn't be too crazy, right? The alternative was even more desperate time wasters, so he would understand. She fired a text off.

Curiously, the inside of the car buzzed. Normally cars don't do that, unless they are experiencing quite a bit of engine trouble, and even less often in stopped and off cars.

Judy quirked a brow, eyeing the source. Nicks left behind pants stared back at her. Chewing at her bottom lip, Judy reached out, and came back with Nicks phone. Oh, how cute, his lock screen was a selfie they had taken. In fact, she used the same one as her home screen. Adorable.

Though, that he left his phone behind, that could be a problem.

A problem, but hey, that's an excuse to do something at least!

Judy threw the squadcar into gear and drove. She was just going to get a little closer, maybe see if anything had gone wrong, maybe try and give Nick his phone back. She was a professional, but come on, he can't just expect her to wait forever, right? It had always been like thirty minutes!

Judy stopped the car, her eyes wide. Outside the address was black sedan, parked with tinted windows. Light hit that shiny black, gleaming off in harsh rays that rivaled the sun. It lay there, almost as if waiting to pounce in front of the squat little home.

She remembered that license plate.

Judy called for backup.

* * *

Discussion had been a little touch and go for Nick there.

The good news is that, yes, Jimmy was here. And further good news, yes, Jimmy didn't know he was a cop. That wasn't all that surprising, given how myopic the badger could be. It must be those little beady eyes. Though it was more likely his obsession with sound recording, and his new obsession of convincing the city he had died.

The bad news had been Jimmy didn't trust Nick. Now that hurt, really. Nick always considered himself a trustworthy fox for, you know, certain values of trustworthy. He'd never sold out a friend or partner for one thing, and he wasn't trying to now. But of course Jimmy would take a look at Nick and think: "Of course, the shifty fox has come to sell me out." It would have stung a lot more if Nick wasn't used to it.

Though, it didn't hurt him nearly as much as Nicks advanced persuasion methods hurt Jimmy, which was to kick him in the back of the knee and cuff him.

Now, Nick had known that this was on the shadier side of law enforcement, and perhaps the illegal side, but he knew enough about what Jimmy did to be able to leverage Jimmy into forgetting the exact nature of this whole situation. He just hoped that he could convince Judy that this was needed. She was not going to be happy. He'd been causing too much trouble for her lately.

Then again, maybe her being mad at him was preferable to the whole apartment thing.

It was good on paper, really. She needed a bigger space and maybe an internet connection. He needed a place that was not a basement that should have been condemned and maybe a little less damp. The problem was actually adding people into the mix. For one thing, he wouldn't be able to keep pulling back from Judy if they saw each other like that all the time, even if he did lock himself in his room.

And really, the problem with that would be that he wouldn't even want to lock himself in his room. He'd be out there all the time, harassing her, joking, staring. The whole thing would be an absolute mess, one way or the other. Well, that and it was hard enough finding an apartment in their price range that catered to both predators and prey.

You know, Jimmy squirming on the floor and spitting out frankly racist epithets was really making it hard to focus. The sudden knocking at the door didn't help much either. It was probably Carrots anyway.

The sound of a lock being forced took that last assumption off the table.

Jimmy finally settled down for a moment, only to renew his struggles. Nick held him down, groping for his phone. He couldn't let Jimmy bolt, or he would never find the portly son of a… Oh no, his phone wasn't on him! He must have left it in his other pocket. Which was annoying at the best of times, and potentially fatal now.

No time to think, only time to act. They needed to get out or hide, and Nick couldn't trust Jimmy to really work with him now, could he? Time to Improvise.

Nick stuffed Jimmy in an Armoire and bolted for his own hiding place. Nick might have thought a bit too quickly on that one, but, what is done is done.

* * *

Judy should have waited for backup. It would have been prudent at the very least, but Nick was in there, and she couldn't risk coming in too late to help. She didn't know how far these thugs would go to keep the truth hidden. And if they found a fox snooping around, well… Not too many people ask questions when a fox goes missing.

Judy hopped out of the car, soft fingers patting herself down for a minute, taking stock of her things. One stun gun; rated for Class B mammals, one can of mace; rated for Class C mammals, and one telescoping baton; rated for no mammals, but they just didn't make bunny sized nightsticks. She hoped she didn't have to use any of it, but she felt like walking in like this meant she was going to have to anyway.

Whoever they were had posted a lookout of course, a slightly heavyset black bear in nothing but some jeans and an undershirt. His coat was slung over his shoulder, and he looked like he was having an extraordinarily bad time in the heat. His eyes glazed, his mouth open and tongue rolling out, it wasn't any wonder that he didn't notice Hopps until she was but four feet from him, looking up.

Judy had her best friendly face on, though it didn't each all the way to her eyes, or even her ears, "Sir? Sir, is this your house?"

The black bear looked caught off guard, blinking blearily in the oppressive heat of the sun and the withering presence of the police. The bear pursed his lips, "Who wants to know?" he growled, which was perhaps not the best answer for the moment. Particularly when there was no chance at all that he lived in the badger sized house. Even on paws and knees, he would have been too wide for it. It was a nice change for pace, actually, that this place was just about Judy's size.

Judy smiled again, "Well, hate to state the obvious sir, but I do. You know, the police? Kind of a big deal?" he voice was laced with ice that even the desert sun couldn't truly melt, "And I want to know if this is your house, sir, because we have reports of a break in?" the little rabbit said oh so sweetly.

The bear's eyes shot wide, a flash of realization, and a rush of panic. He moved, shifting to what for a bear was an attack position. The heat sapped his speed, leaving him panting like a beast. He was too slow.

There was a dull thwap as two darts landed in the bear, and then the low and crackling staccato of clicks that was the discharge of a taser. The Bear couldn't even yell, every bit of him going rigid as the current gripped him. His eyes bugged out, and then began to spasm. Sand kicked everywhere as the man clawed at the walls with his blind muscle convulsions. The current passed, a pause that stretched for an eternity, and with a snarl the bear lurched back up.

Judy depressed the trigger once more, and the ursine assailant went back down in another twitching fit. This time, he stayed down.

Judy tossed the taster to the side, wrestling limp and weakly resisting arms behind the bears back, clamping him into cuffs. She couldn't help but take in the stench of burned fur, or notice the little silver burns left on his chest. It was horrible the way he weakly struggled, muscles still twitching even in the absence of current.

The bear vomited, eyes rolling back from what could only be the intersection of trauma and heatstroke.

The little rabbit hopped off her stunned and subdued quarry, and perked her ears. The door was closed still, windows tightly shuttered. The little rabbit bit her lower lip, placing those flopped ears to the wall, face squished up along with them. She couldn't just go in guns blazing. For one thing, her only gun was that taser, and they would take a bit too long to reload. She had to know what was going on right now.

There was thumping going on inside, shifting of furniture and heavy footfalls. One set of paws, maybe two? Maybe more, really, ears were not exactly precision instruments. Hopps let out a little huff of breath, hands on her can of mace.

She couldn't hear Nick, or Jimmy. That was a good sign. Or the worst sign. But if they had them, well, these thugs would have already left, right?

Judy's grip on her made tightened, letting out a slow gust of breath. She couldn't risk it, she had to get in there to help now, the best she could. Her little bunny heart hammered in her chest, terror flooding through her entire body.

The sound of splintering wood from inside proved that terror justified.

* * *

Nick wasn't a big fan of being trapped.

He didn't actually like physical confrontation at all, actually. That's why he'd ended up working with Finnick, all two feet of distilled aggression of him. With the little fennec fox around Nick didn't have to be the one with the bat when undesirables came calling.

Nick would have really liked Finnick to have been here right now.

So he was trapped in Jimmy's room right now, with Jimmy in the armoire, and some sort of angry person trying to get in. Or persons? It was hard to tell. They'd been searching the house for a good two minutes before they started to try and get into this room. Of course, he might have had a bit more time if Jimmy hadn't tried to wiggle his way free again.

Nicks only really saving grace right now was that whoever was trying to get in was just a bit too big for the badger sized house, and couldn't force the door properly. So, given that he had, what, five more minutes? That was fine, Judy would find him by then.

The crash of another shoulder along the door made him really question that.

Nick couldn't run. He couldn't bail through the window without leaving Jimmy behind, and he couldn't hide forever. The only thing left was to fight. Arguably, he'd been trained for this. Nick hated fighting, but when you work on the streets as long as Nick had, you learned a few things. The first was to avoid getting hit.

The second one was the cheat.

He'd never tell Judy, but he used that a little bit of that wisdom even in the academy. For example, there hadn't been any strict rule about filling your boxing glove with lead shot during large animal sparring, and if you weren't showy with how you did it, well, no one really wanted to ask? Besides, he rather liked being called Iron Fist when no one was the wiser. As far as they knew, he just had quite the punch. Living as a stereotype for twenty years can make some sneaky habits hard to break.

So when the banging on the door had finally been replaced with smaller, more precise strikes that busted the cheap lock, Nick was ready. The moment the lock broke, the red fox flung the door the rest of the way open. On the other side, the aggressor stumbled, eyes wide in sudden surprise. He tried to stand, and the Jackal who had forced his way through the lock got a muzzlefull of brass for his trouble.

It maybe wasn't the best welcome gift.

Nick loved these old brass knuckles. His uncle had given them too him years ago when he had cottoned on to Nicks somewhat unorthodox lifestyle. There were good memories with them. Shame they were illegal. And wasn't that just like him? He forget to bring his phone, but to remember to bring his brass knuckles. Well, he had had the knuckles for far longer than the phone. Come to think of it, he'd left his wallet behind too. He'd forget his own head if it wasn't attached to his shoulders.

Nick panted, the feel of crunching bone and breaking teeth still ringing through those knuckles as he hefted his fists. The first hit had stunned the jackal, who looked back at Nick in uncomprehending fear. Nick hit him again, brass connecting right on the bridge of his muzzle.

The door was open now, and on the other side a jackal howled in pain as he fell back in a writhing heap. Both paws clutched his mouth, blood seeping through fingers. His eyes rolled in agony, and Nick though he could see parts of teeth on the hardwood floors. The jackal couldn't stay still, dull claws scrabbling as his back arched and he whimpered like a wounded child. He might never look the same after that.

There was a reason these things were illegal.

Nick tried to close the door again, and maybe find something to brace it with, when the second intruder rounded the corner. She barely fit in the little badger house, long neck hanging low and little stubby legs bent. Eyes flicked down to the stricken jackal, and then back up to Nick as the hyena snarled.

Nick tried to get the door closed faster.

The hyena moved like a snake, sudden power exploding from coiled muscles. She was too fast for Nick, her meaty fist connecting with his sternum in a powerful and muted thud. The fox yelped, high pitched and shocked as the force sent him back, skittering along the floor and into the wall with a louder thud. Legs worked feverishly as he scrambled back to his feet, already feeling the bruise on his chest. It was hard to breath.

They hyena didn't follow, not right away at least, grabbing up her stricken jackal friend and hauling him behind her. He whimpered, coughing, trying to speak only for more dark blood to ooze past his lips. It was pathetic to see him try and stand. The hyena didn't seem impressed, "Shut up. Get back in the car." She snarled at her wounded compatriot, before wheeling back to Nick. Her teeth were bared, eyes almost alight with a sort of savage glee, "Where's the badger shitheel?" the woman huffed, hunched and fists at the ready as she advanced on Nick, "Start talking of I leave you like our friend there."

She cackled in that way only hyenas can, "Maybe worse if you really hold out. But really, just want the badger. You can walk, but ya better make it quick."

Nick lied, "Listen, listen, I'd love to right now, but I don't have him." The fox coughed out, ribs creaking. He regretted opening his mouth, talking had hurt a lot more than he had expected. He could feel the skin under his fur already turning black and blue, and maybe even a lovely shade of purple. It was like something angry was lurking under his skin. Another cough as he shoved himself to his feet, "He bolted when I tried to pick him up. You would not believe how fast a badger can get with those stubby little legs. It's amazing really."

The hyena seemed amused, but not in the way Nick would have preferred, "I wonder if you're this amusing every time I hit ya." The brute huffed, shouldering her way through the door. It was quite the squeeze for her.

Nick darted forward, trying to take advantage of her squeezing, but his battered chest howled in protest and he faltered. Too slow, too stiff. The hyena opened her massive fist, grabbing the fox by the wrist and hurling him like a rag doll into the wall. Nick cried out, yelping as the impact sent wall-pictures to the floor and rattled drawers.

The hyena didn't let go of his wrist, muscles under fur bulging as she whipped him around again, face first into the other wall. For Nick, the world vanished, replaced with the bright white of agony as she put his head through drywall.

Dimly, in the theater of his mind, he could hear the academy drill instructor, "You're dead, foxtrot!"

The world came back to him in a rush, a world filled only with the snarling grin of a hyena matron. His eyes rolled, his teeth felt loose in his gums. His back spasmed as she held him up by one arm, peering down at the broken little toy she held. It was an ugly grin.

"So, did that jog your memory?"

Nick could feel some sort of warmth trickling down his neck and face. He smelled copper. "Does your life flashing before your eyes count as jogging your memory?" he groaned, "Cause' I think I remember when I lost my tricycle now."

The hyena laughed, "Now that's dedication to your craft. You a comedian or something?" another smirk, as she wrapped her other fist around his throat, "Now I don't got much time to visit a comedy club, so where is he?"

"HHhhkkkkk, don't you think, HHhhhh that choking someone for answers is a bit counter Hhhnnk productive?"

The grip got tighter, Nicks vision swam. He could feel his legs kicking under him as darkness filled the corners of his vision. That was funny, he wasn't telling them to do that. Silly legs, struggling wasn't going to help right now.

And then, release! Nick fell as the grip on him vanished with a sound like a cracking whip and a hyena scream. The fox fell in a tangle, looking up as the hyena above him whirled, snarling like a savage as she pushed away from him, back through the door she came.

He could hear something, someone, as his senses came back and he gasped for air. The world tilted madly, threatening to toss him back down into the black.

"Down on the ground! Get Down on the ground!"

"My fucking ankle! Fuck you bitch!"

More struggling, the sounds of splintering wound and breaking crockery overwhelming him. He could hear scrabbling feet and thundering footfalls, grunts and snarls. The discharge of some sort of aerosol, a scream. It was all coming to him as he fought to hold onto his wits.

Another cacophony of breaking glass filtered back to Nick. Distantly, from the armoire, he could hear Jimmy moan, "Nnooooo, not mam's china!"

Well, good to know that everyone's priorities were still in order

* * *

Fear was a hell of a drug.

For one thing, Judy really doubted she could have moved as fast as she was without her hindbrain screaming at her. She hadn't planned on getting into a fight with this hyena, but when she saw her "gentle" work with Nick, her baton just came down on that ankle all on its own. It was a miracle really, an object moving on its own. It certainly wasn't the flush of anger than had gripped her heart.

All the force of a charging rabbit focused on a contact point barely larger than a dime was like being shot. Bone creaked and tendons groaned at the sudden slap of carbon fiber against an ankle. For a moment, Judy had thought she had already won.

But now it was a sort of total and heart pounding fear that threatened to overtake the part of Judy that was Judy. She hadn't managed to hurt the Hyena too bad it looked like. The ankle was still in the right position, if swollen, and that snarling thug didn't seem to be hampered by it, if the way she swung her fists around was any indication. Maybe once adrenaline left that snarling girl it would hobble her, but not right now.

In an open field, Judy would have been paste. But in this closed space, with the hyena fuming and almost mad with rage, she had more than enough room to maneuver. Still, it was barely enough, hulking fists destroying delicate furniture as they tried to home in on the speeding rabbit as she bounced from surface to surface.

The Hyena did get a lucky hit in though. Right after Judy had pressed that can of mace up to one of those huge eyes and depressed the nozzle. The hyena had howled in snarling rage, swinging blindly, and had caught the bounding little bunny right across the face. That Judy had been able to roll with it perhaps had been the only saving grace, the force of that swing nearly enough to snap her head right off her shoulders. So it was nice that she was able to land on her feet with only seeing stars.

Of course, that's when the knife came out.

It was a big, long, wicked looking thing, with a single sharp edge coming to a deadly point. Front Judy's perspective, it was nearly as big as her, and that Hyena was not shy in using it. But with one eyes forced shut and leaking what one could only hope was tears, even the stabs and slashes were unable to connect with their mark. The dusty drywall kicked up into the air by those missed slashes couldn't be helping her eye either.

Judy couldn't keep this up. Even with that hyena nearly blind, she couldn't get close once the knife was out. There was nowhere to go. Time was running out.

So it was a breath of fresh air when the Hyena stopped, knife poised to strike, and panting. Judy froze, staring that woman down. The big hulk of a woman had only stopped when a chunk of drywall had been chucked at her head, lightly of course. Behind them, there was a cough.

"So, you hear that too?" Nick groaned, staggering, leaning up about the broken door. He grinned, all teeth still there thank god, "Cause I'm thinking I hear sirens, right Carrots?"

The hyena huffed, teeth bared, grinding those wicked fangs. Fingers curled and clutched her knife, the point wavering a bit. Judy dared not move.

Nick coughed, "Ah, fuck, you really kicked the shit out of me. Still, with those sirens, backup can't be far off, right?" Another little chuckle, "And I'm not sure you want to be around when the brute squad shows up, right? I mean, I'm kind of new to this, but I am pretty sure the police don't take well to people trying to stab them."

The hyena snarled, eyes gleaming in the light… And she moved. Slinking away, knife still out in front of her, pointed right at Judy, she scrabbled back. The jackal had left long ago, and the hyena bitch grunted with an unsettling cackle as she slipped out, "Fine, you two can keep him." She groaned, free hand rubbing her swollen eye. Another snarl, "Last time I do a favor anyway."

And with that, she closed the door behind her. There was dull scrabbling outside, then the fire of an engine, and the screaming of rubber tires. They were gone.

Judy slumped against the wall. It was fine, they hadn't got away yet. She could hear the sirens, and backup would be here within a minute. She could rest. It didn't matter, they got their suspect, they got what they came for.

Nick grinned, sliding down to the floor with a groan, "Well, wasn't she friendly? Love her laugh."

Judy laughed, her neck aching as she moved over to Nick, smiling a bit, and then frowning as she got a good look at him, "Oh, Nick. Cheese and crackers Nick, you look…"

"Fucked, right? God, I always heard that you had to watch out for the hyena girls, but wow, the warnings do not do them justice."

Judy whined, moving down next to the fox, and then laughed, "Well, you can't be too hurt, you're still chatting up a storm."

"Trust me," Nick coughed, "That's more the concussion than anything. Did you see? She used me for some remodeling. I'm not really a fan of her work, but there's no accounting for taste."

Judy laughed, feeling a wetness at the corner of her eyes as she sat down next to Nick, letting him lean on her, "You dumb fox, just shut up and stay still."

The fox chuckled, wincing as pain shot through him from that very chuckle, "Careful fluff, when backup gets here they're gonna give Clawhauser more ammo, seeing you leaning on me like this."

"Let them."

The fox lay back, the heat on his cheeks competing with the burning heat at his chest and his throat. Now that wasn't fair. Little rabbits shouldn't be able to take advantage of old and infirm foxes. There was a rule about that somewhere, he knew it. You were not allowed to tease the wounded. Nick sighed, leaning along Judy, feeling the soft warmth of her. This was nice. A shame it couldn't last.

Somewhere, back in the armoire, there was a noise. "So, uh… You let them go, sooooo… How about me?" whined a slightly muffled Jimmy.

Well, hope springs eternal.


	7. Chapter 6

Mr. Green had come quietly.

In fact, the second time the police showed up (Judy, Nick, and Purrphy, just in case he _didn't_ come quietly.) he was all ready to go, all the calls made, his lawyer down at the precinct, everything all in order. He had known, had known in his bones it seemed, that the noose had been tightening on the very day of the accident. If only all the criminals came in so easily. They'd never caught up with those Strongpaw goons, but time would tell.

Judy gnawed at the end of her pen as she did her paperwork, the oh so unglamorous side of police work. She found it meditative, a time to reflect and recollect, something that gave perspective.

It wasn't an airtight case, but the evidence was there. Mr. Green had wanted Callaham to lapse on his lease in the face of local pressure. He felt he couldn't wait, and had decided to try and force the issue. Bad service, threats, and then even a few dollars spent to cause trouble. It hadn't worked, so that's when Jimmy had come in.

In a display of "turning over a new leaf," Green had offered to fix the older speakers of the club, and had done so. It would have been lovely, if Jimmy hadn't also tweaked those speakers to produce a high pitched buzz just at the edge of hearing. The sort of buzz that put people on edge in a barely noticeable way. All Mr. Green had to do then was wait.

He hadn't of course. A few little scuffles, some low attendance numbers, it was far too slow of a decay for him. So he had called up Strongpaw, and suggested he needed a few people for unorthodox work. It should have worked. A big fight would have really killed the place.

It probably would have worked too if anyone else had been there. But no, a few hotheads, some drink and drugs, and it had all gone to hell. It was supposed to be a scuffle, not a murder. Mr. Green might have been a bad man, an unethical landlord, or other things, but he hadn't been a monster. What he had done had almost broken him.

He had barely even covered his trail. Perhaps he didn't have it in him to be that ruthless.

But he was on his way to trial now. Manslaughter for sure, and likely conspiracy. It was a mess. The story, now that there was an arrest, had been all over the papers. It had everything the free press wanted; Sex, violence, tragedy, and a cute little ending. There were likely going to be a few small interviews again. Judy dreaded that inevitability.

She really hoped this time she wouldn't cause the collapse of civilized living with her answers again. It really didn't seem like the sort of thing she should repeat.

The little rabbit yawned in her seat, stretching slightly. The sun had sunk down low in the sky again, the outside bright with the warm colors of dusk. It had been another long day, but they had done it! The elation of the arrest, the comfort of a job well done, it sustained her through this work. Even with all that had gone wrong, with the terror that had consumed her barely four hours ago, it all paled in comparison to this moment of true and total triumph. She lived for moments like these.

One page down. Now she just to have to do Nicks paperwork for him.

She probably should have just waited for him, but it really irked her having things left undone. Judy supposed it wasn't Nick's fault he couldn't fill it out, really, but it still seemed irresponsible to just leave work to do. Maybe that was the carrot farm talking, but she really felt that a job half done was the same as not doing the job at all. And besides, if she did Nicks work for him, well, that's a favor, isn't it?

Time passed, and Judy found herself almost alone in the precinct. Everyone save for the night shift had gone home now, even Nick. Of course Nick had taken off early to see the doctor, something that he had seemed so excited to do. This was the first time, he had said, that the fox had had health insurance in fifteen years. And judging by the shape he had been in, he would need it. But at least he had stuck around long enough to close the case. Nick was a good fox, he would stick it out for her when she needed.

Not long enough to fill out his report though.

Judy had been so caught up in her own thoughts she had barely Noticed when Chief Bogo had stepped into the room. There was something perverse about how quietly that buffalo could move. Nothing with a shoulder span like his and tiny legs should have been able to move like he did. Of course, there was very little that could disguise him placing one hoofed hand on the table with a sharp clack.

"How's that report coming along, Hopps?" the police chief rumbled.

Judy snapped back to the real world, a hot blush rushing to her ears for a moment. The surprise brought her back in mind of when her mother had found her daydreaming in her youth. It could have been worse though, Chief Bogo hadn't caught her doing any of the other things her mother had caught her doing.

Thank god.

"Oh! Right here chief!" Hopps said, all bright sunshine and toothy grin. She held her papers out for the big buffalo with some expectation.

Bogo looked the little rabbit over, head tiling a bit as he adjusted his glasses and took the papers from her. He snorted once, huffing as he squinted, "Mmm, you got this done fast Hopps. That's not something that normally happens here."

Judy beamed, "Well Sir, I do like to think I don't let work sit around for too long."

"Careful Hopps, if word gets out you might be doing a lot more work than just your own. Speaking of," the chief rumbled, leaning across the table, "I can't help but notice that second report you are working on. Wilde's, I suspect."

"Well, sir, he's in no shape to finish up and I just thought-"

"That is why there is a full twenty-four hour deadline. More when the officer had been knocked through a wall. He can get it done when he gets back."

"Sir, it's just a little outline."

The big buffalo huffed, a little grin tugging at dour lips, "Outlines don't have a word count like that Hopps. It's fine, just stop working on it. You've been here for two hours more than you have had to." Another grunt, "And I don't do overtime Hopps."

The little rabbit chuckled a bit at herself, "Oh! Oh, right sir. Sorry. Won't happen again."

"Mmm, see that it doesn't. Take his report home to him though. From the call I got from his doctor, he'll fit for desk work in two days, so he can work on this overnight. Or whenever. I really don't care so long as it gets done."

Judy quirked a brow, "Uh, alright sir. Can't he just pick it up in the morning? Or whenever he gets put back on duty?"

"He can, but you were going to see him anyway, weren't you?" The chief paused for a long moment, "He did a good job back there, I understand. Took quite the beating for a fox. He could probably stand to see a friendly face."

Judy smiled, "Ah, alright, I'll get this to him then chief."

The buffalo grunted, uniform creaking a bit as he stood, "See that you do. Oh, and Hopps, tell him that both of you are going to be transferred to homicide in, oh, let's say three months. Under Fangmeyer."

Judy blinked once, "Sir?"

Bogo smiled, a dark, sardonic little thing, "I told you this case was on the job training, didn't I? Don't worry Hopps, you'll do fine. I need more people who can think laterally and dig for as long as they need to, and you two have some competence." He gave a little laughing grunt, "Who knows, maybe you will both make detective if you keep this up."

Judy beamed a bright grin, lavender eyes sparkling. Bogo coughed.

"Now get out of here. I can't have off duty officers loitering around." The chief huffed, "This precinct has standards Hopps."

Judy just smiled.

* * *

Everything ached for Nick.

As he sat at home in his beat-up lion sized recliner (You can get quite a large amount of distressed furniture for free if you don't mind it behind mis-sized.) the fox did his best to not move too much. An endeavor that was a little difficult when the contraction of your diaphragm to breath made your body protest. He was in about as bad a shape as you can be in without being broken.

It had been a small miracle that all the trauma had been limited to bruising and abrasions. His bones had taken a bit of a beating, but they held, and he barely even had a concussion at all. It was the little things in life that one had to be thankful for. With a little medication, he'd be right as rain.

Nick took the anti-biotics, but not the pain-pills. He knew too many people who found their kick a bit too much for them. He still talked to a few of them, when they weren't crushing up those very same pain pills. Living near the street gave him a little insight into this. More than he would have liked.

This was going to make recovery a real problem, but he could gut it out. Nothing was broken, and he'd be doing fine in, what had the doctor said? Two weeks? Two weeks of this seemed like an eternity. He hoped the swelling would go down on his throat a bit at least. It was like someone had stuffed him with cotton up there. At least it was only his left arm that had gotten hurt though, otherwise how else would he be able to surf the web?

If it had been his right arm that had got messed up, he might have taken the pain pills after all. Trapped in a desperate drug induced spiral seemed like a better fate than the late night TV he'd endured in the past.

He felt content. Sure, he'd been beaten and bruised, and he'd gotten hell from Judy for scaring her, and then hell again from Bogo for taking risks like that, but he'd done the job. Sure, he might have gotten some dirt on the new badge of his (Which was kind of inevitable anyway, the fox had thought), but in the end of the day the case was closed. Some people would be able to go to bed with peace of mind, confident justice would be served. And hey, it would be him for once. It was a nice change of pace.

So when the knock on his door came, he was at least in a good enough mood to entertain answering it.

The mood evaporated somewhat in the agonizing process of standing up and walking over to the door, but by then it was too late. Groaning, Nick unbolted those heavy locks, and let out a soft smile, "Ah, Carrots, I should have known."

Outside in the dark, Judy smiled back.

Nick chuckled a bit, brow raising, "You know, didn't we have a conversation about calling before you showed up? Or are you just trying to get into my bed again?"

The little rabbit laughed, feeling her ears burn, "No, you jerk, Bogo just wanted me to drop off your paperwork."

"Kicked you out for staying late again, did he?"

"I don't get his problem! I mean, I'm just using the space. Why do I have to go home and turn it in later?"

Nick smirked, opening the door, "Well, if you need a space, the table is free."

Judy paused a moment, biting her lower lip, "I didn't mean, well, I… Sure!" she said, brightening up. "And this way, I can finish your stuff too."

Nick blinked as the little rabbit pushed past him, "Oh, you're doing my work too Carrots? You know, you're supposed to wait for the bribe and then do the favor, not the other way around."

Judy just smirked, moving over to the table, and then with some care, clearing a space for herself amidst the ancient piles of papers and old receipts. She groaned, "Can it. And cheese and crackers Nick, do you ever clean this place?"

The fox winced, and then winced again as he slumped down into his soft chair, "Nnnnf, tried a few times. Never saw the point really. The place is enough of a dump that I really just end up sleeping here. Oh, there was time I tried to make it work, but then one of the pipes broke." He pointed to the building, and an ominous dark patch. "After that, I really just tried to make sure nothing was growing or living in here. Which with all the damp, it's a bit of a problem."

Judy gave Nick a long look, "Uh huh. Really Nick, you need to move."

"Aww, but I have such good memories of this place. Like that one time the pipe broke."

"That's a good memory?"

"Gave me a reason not to clean. That's kind of a good memory."

Judy laughed, brow furrowing a bit a she glared at Nick, "Hah ha. Well, one way or another, you're moving out soon. Maybe someone at the precinct needs a roommate. You should ask around."

Nick groaned, and then paused for a moment, thinking. He sat forward with a wince, "Wait, someone? I thought you were still set on rooming together fluff?"

Judy sighed, fingers drumming on that ancient table, "Nick, it's pretty obvious you don't want me as a roommate." Her ears drooped a moment, and then shot back up, "But you really need a new place, so you know, at least you can get out of… Of this. Did you know that this violates like four different health code violations?"

The fox grumbled, "Well, that's why I originally moved in Carrots. Nice and cheap, and I wasn't going to go to the cops anyway, now was I?" he let out a slow groan, his side throbbing, "And… You know it's not you, right? About the whole apartment thing."

Judy turned from her papers, fixing nick with an even look, "Uh huh. It's you, is it?"

Nicks heart skipped a beat, and not in the fun way.

Nick groaned again, twisting to look at Judy a bit more levelly, "Yes. No. Kind of?" The fox huffed, ears flattening slightly, "Carrots, I've been on my own a long time. And you just got out of living with your parents and your, frankly, insane family. I just don't think it's going to work out."

Judy rolled her eyes, "Nick, I've been away from home for close to nine months now. I think I'm beyond the homesick stage." She gave the fox a little point with her finger, "And you, Nick, we hang out all the time. I have text messages from you when you are on patrol with other people. You can't tell me that you think you need your space. This? This is not cultivating space."

Nick raised a paw, "In my defense, patrol with Fangmeyer is just awful, and I have to chat with someone when it's happening."

Judy just gave him a long look, and then smirked, "About that, Bogo says we might get transferred to homicide with him."

"Ah, good, I was waiting for the other shoe to drop."

Judy held her gaze on Nick. He felt his heart beat faster in his chest, the heat of her gaze boring into her.

"What?"

"You know what."

Nick squirmed in his seat (Which was not the best for his ribs) and frowned, "Hell, Carrots, you're not going to let it go, are you?"

Judy sighed, "Nick, I just want to know. I want you to be honest with me." a little frown, the slightest quiver of her lower lip, "I think I deserve that from you Nick."

Nick felt his heart sink down to his stomach.

He sat there for a long moment, paws gripping the armrests. A sigh of breath, "You drive me crazy, you know that?" the fox said, a small smile on his lips, "You're so bright and optimistic, and you have just this little way of getting under my fur and pressing all the right buttons. It's impossible not to like you. There are times when I can't imagine not knowing you."

Judy didn't say anything, just looking over her partner.

"Which is crazy, right? I've had other friends, other girlfriends actually, who haven't got me like this. Ok, no, that's a lie. My first girlfriend got me like that, but at fourteen that's just how it is, you know? But, really, I… Judy, you're amazing." The Fox said, staring off into nowhere, eyes focused on the middle distance of the wall in front of him. He wasn't even facing Judy now, "I just don't think it would be best moving in with you. There's so much that could go wrong. It's unfair to you." He laughed, "Besides, this time next year you'll have your own place, and your career… And hell, maybe even someone to call your own. I can't get in the way of that, after all you've done for me."

The air was still for a moment, a long moment. The only thing that could be heard was both their breaths, broken by the soft steps of rabbit feat against carpet. A soft paw rested on Nicks shoulder, as Judy leaned over that reclining fox. Nick could feel his side ache, and his heart hammer, as those big lavender eyes locked with his.

Judy's grip on his shoulder, "Nick." She said, levelly, with more than a little irritation, "Are you telling me that you've been holding back because you don't think you're good enough for me?"

Nick swallowed, his throat burning from embarrassment and also his earlier choking, "Not as, uh, such."

Judy leaned close, so close that he could feel her breath on his lips, "You're not my mother Nick. You don't get to choose what's best for me." She smelled so sweet, this close, like carrots and lilac.

He could feel her little fingers move, soft, gently, sliding from his shoulder to his neck, tracing lines through orange fur, "And I can't tell you what you want either, Nick. But I do know what you want. You don't tease me like you do anyone else Nick." The little rabbit stared that fox down, lavender eyes half lidded, "I know, I watch."

Nick shivered, unable to look away, a tightness gripping his heart as a free rabbit hand moved across his chest. He could do nothing but focus on Judy, on everything about her in that moment.

"You don't flirt with other girls like you do with me Nick." She breathed, so terribly close. Dimly, Nick was aware she had moved up onto the chairs armrest as she hung above him. "So tell me, do you want me Nick?"

It felt like some hand had gripped his heart, some powerful force that squeezed every ounce of longing from him. His fingers quivered, moving almost on their own. Before he knew it, they were on Judy's hips, provoking a soft gasp from her.

In this moment, she was perfect.

"Carrots… You're going to regret this. I'm thirty-two, we work together, we aren't even the same species- "

"That not what I asked Nick."

A long pause, an eternity of staring up into her eyes. Lavender pools without end, promising comfort that terrified him. He could feel her on him, he could feel her breath. His heart pounded, nearly drowning everything out with its incessant thud.

"Oh god do I want you, Carrots."

And Judy smiled, inches from that fox, her fingers tightening along his shirt.

"Knew it.", she breathed out, soft lips pressing against him.

* * *

Judy didn't stay the night.

Not that she hadn't wanted to, but who was she to perpetuate the bunny stereotype? Besides, she'd gotten really good about leaving boys wanting more back in Bunnyburrow. You don't grow up as a rabbit in the country without learning a thing or two about that sort of thing. What was unique to her though was how good she got at letting them down. It had been a good judge of character too. You don't really know a rabbit buck until you see how they handle, ah ha, refusal.

Nick might have passed that little test. Maybe he had help with his injury, but he accepted that she wasn't going to stay behind. And even better; after their soft embrace, it had been like it always was. Little jokes, teases, and sly looks. The flirting had got a little more exciting though, that had been nice.

He didn't pressure her, except in ways she wanted, and he didn't try and get anything she didn't offer. He understood her, in his own way. At least she liked to think he did.

Still, he'd agreed with her on the staying the night thing. He also flatly had refused to find an apartment with her now. That had stung a bit, but Nick had insisted that if they were going to try and make this work, if they really wanted it, (And oh how she did.) that they were going to take it slow. Moving in right away… That was a disaster waiting to happen.

Oh but what a fun disaster it would have been.

In the dim light of morning, the sun far from cresting the dazzling towers of Zootopia, Judy had time to think on that. Her heart fluttered still, thumping in her chest as she stared up that the ceiling. Something was missing right now, and she knew what it was. The bed felt so much more empty now, now that she knew he was out there. Was he thinking of her right now?

Probably not. The sly fox had a day off, and an injury. In all likelihood he was sleeping like the dead. Which was good for him. Besides, she didn't know how she would handle being around him at work now, after this whole thing.

There was a knock at the door.

* * *

Nick didn't let Judy stay the night.

There had been a time in his life he would have, or would have certainly lobbied for it. But at his age and experience, and with all the aches and pains, well, it really was the smartest thing he could do. And that's not even counting some of the more awkward biological difficulties there would have been. He wasn't certain either of them were ready for that sort of learning experience.

But part of him still wished she had. He might have slept better, for one thing, with the feel of soft rabbit fur in his arms and across his chest, the soft smell of her… It was best not to think of these things right now. After all, it was bad for his heart, and he was under doctors' orders to rest. And he always followed the doctors' orders. Most of the time. Sometimes. When he felt like it.

But he still couldn't sleep, his refusal to take his medication keeping him up in little starts and fits throughout the night. And when six AM had rolled around, the force of habit and the gnawing of bruised flesh roused him. Which was quite the shame, he'd been having a nice dream. Judy was there, along with a lancing pain in his side. Maybe he should be taking those meds, actually, because try as he might, he couldn't get back to sleep.

There was something, deeply, cosmically wrong with being unable to sleep on your day off.

But now there wasn't anything to do about it, forcing him to stare up at the ceiling as the slow aches and throbs of the waking world crawled back to him. Uncomfortable, troubling thoughts crept in with them. It had been a long time since he had really thought those thoughts.

Nick got up.

* * *

Of course it was Nick at the door, who else would it have been?

"Nick!" Judy said, her voice tinged with the dueling emotions or pleasant surprise and worried confusion. She was ready for work, uniform on and badge shined up. Nick… Nick wasn't. Which was fair, he wasn't even supposed to be at work today. She did like this color of floral shirt, though she did wonder if he owned anything besides floral shirts. She'd have to check sometime.

Nick grinned back that soft smile that came so readily to him, "Woah, calm down Carrots. Just thought I'd keep you company on the bus."

Judy laughed, a soft and thrilling little giggle as she moved closer to that fox, "Mmmm, how sweet, but I think that's against doctors' orders."

The fox looked scandalized, "Why, madam, I would never do such a thing. Can you not see that I am relaxing? I even wore my relaxing shirt, and my least formal tie."

Judy grinned, hips swaying slightly as she moved right up along that fox, her chest pressed along him. Soft little fingers slipped around that man as she looked up at him, "How could I not notice? So silly of me."

Nick felt his breath catch in his throat for a moment at that though, paw moving to the top of that rabbits' head and running through her fur, "Well, that's why you leave the investigation to me at work, right?"

Judy lightly flicked Nick in the side, making him wince, "Hey now, I'd watch what you say when I'm down here fox. I can make things uncomfortable for you."

"And go against my doctors' orders? Carrots, how could you? I never knew you to be a bad girl."

"Oh, I can be bad."

There was a long pause, the fox holding that little rabbit, both feeling one another along each other, hearts and breaths, so different from one another, filling them. She quivered in his grip, and he trembled in hers.

"Carrots, do you think this is really going to work?"

Lavender eyes looking up into that fox as she smiled, all warmth and hope, "I don't know Nick, but I'm going to try. We're going to try."

Nick shivered, fingers running down that rabbits' head, "There'll be trouble." He rumbled, feeling he warmth of her along him.

And Judy giggled, head tilting as she stared back up at him, "Well, it's good we're such good partners then. We can handle some trouble."

And Nick kissed her, the second time in so many days. Another perfect moment in the sunrise. So perfect that they barely even noticed the morning argument of Judy's neighbors.

Who knew if this could last? But in that moment, in the wake of their case and in the heat of their embrace, the whole world was set right.

And who was to say that it wouldn't stay that way forever?


	8. Authors Notes and Thanks

And that's it.

Thanks to everyone who stuck it out through this story, you're a hero and a scholar for making it this far. Without you, there's a good chance i would have given up, and for that, thank you for your help in exorcising this story from my brain. Doing other things might be a bit easier now. I might end up following this up, though I'm not sure yet. It's been a lot of fun, but a lot of work. If I do another story though, I think it might be a few little vignettes in this continuity.

Thanks everyone, it's been a great ride for me


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